


Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

by wyntreaurora



Series: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee [1]
Category: Star Trek (2009)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Nerdiness, coffee!verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-20
Updated: 2010-10-20
Packaged: 2017-11-10 23:35:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 36,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/471977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyntreaurora/pseuds/wyntreaurora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <div class="center">
<br/><img/></div><br/><p>(made for me by witblogi because she is awesome)</p><p>What starts as a simple vacation shared between friends becomes an adventure to remember as Jim and Bones take San Diego by storm during Comic Con. Their weekend takes them through a tour of real and memorable destinations around the city as well as into the uncharted area that lies between best friends...and something more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by witblogi, sesh, and SQ *bows down to their collective awesome*
> 
> All places in San Diego in this fic are real destinations that can be looked up and visited. Bones mentions a “banana bag” at one point, for those who may not be familiar with this term, it’s an IV bag used in hospitals for a couple of different things (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_bag) and sometimes (as in the case in this story) used by doctors/nurses/interns who come in for shift hung-over.
> 
> Disclaimer of the first: The only thing I own in this story are a couple of the background OCs, and I don't really own them so much as I know them. Because, pfft, if I owned Jim and Bones? Let's not even go there...  
> Disclaimer of the second: Any typos, grammar goofs, spelling snafus, or downright suckage are solely my fault since I did quite a bit of writing last minute and didn't have the time to have it beta'd as well as I would have liked.

Jim was already sitting at one of the outside tables when Bones arrived. It didn’t happen often that Jim was early to their weekly lunch on the pier, but occasionally Jim surprised him - usually when Jim had some sort of big news or wanted to drag him into another one of his random hare-brained adventures.

Jim’s chair was turned so that he was watching the steady stream of people (mostly tourists) making their way along the pier. Bones stopped at the hostess station and said hello to the girl who usually sat them before wandering through the smattering of tables and chairs to the table near the railing where Jim was waiting.

“You’re early today. What’s the occasion?”

Jim turned suddenly towards Bones with a lopsided grin.

“There has to be a reason for me to be early to lunch with my best friend?”

“Jim, you know you’re never early without a reason.” Bones sat down in the chair Jim toed away from the table and towards his friend before continuing. “Not that I mind, just curious,” his eyebrow arched on the last word.

“Well, Bones, I have a proposition for you today.” Bones opened his mouth to speak but Jim silenced him with a wave of his hand. “Give me a chance, man.” Jim smiled widely, his eyes lighting up as he spoke. Bones relaxed some, this smile usually didn’t mean trouble or mayhem, it meant that Jim was really excited about something.

“Alright, Jim, I’ll bite. What’s this ‘proposition’?”

Jim’s fingers drummed nervously on his leg. He and Bones had been friends for nearly three years now, so when the idea had come to him, he knew it was perfect.

“Take a trip with me? Not one of the ‘Hey let’s go see where they filmed that movie’ kind of trips, but a real sort of vacation.”

“Vacation?”

“Yeah! I know you’ve got to have time stored up at work since you never take any time off, and I just sold another one of my designs, so I’ve got some free time. Comic Con’s in two weeks and I’ve got a friend who said he’d get us in on Thursday and Friday if we wanted, and then we could spend the rest of the weekend just hanging out in San Diego. What do you think?”

“Comic Con? Really, Jim?”

“Yeah why not? I’ve always wanted to see what it’s all about, but I doubt I could handle the whole four day experience. Plus, you and I haven’t ever really taken a real vacation together.”

“You dragging me along to random gambling trips in Reno and movie location shoots aren’t vacations?”

“Nah. Not planned ones anyway. This’ll be just you and me and free time and whatever San Diego throws at us. Come on, Bones, it’ll be fun!”

“I suppose the next thing you’ll say is that you want to road trip down there and back?”

“The thought had crossed my mind, but it’s a ten hour drive if you never hit a lick of traffic, and that much driving would sort of negate the relaxing aspect of the trip. I say we fly, and before you can protest, let me pitch it to you.”

Bones could only sigh and lean back in his chair. At this point he knew he was going, but he wanted to string Jim along a little longer, make him really work for it. Jim was sort of adorable when he was all excited and trying to convince him of something, though he had been trying to avoid those adjectives and Jim in the same thoughts lately.

He and Jim had clicked from the first time they met about three years ago when Jim had been dragged into the ER by one of his co-workers after one of the interns had accidentally stabbed Jim through the hand with a drawing compass and Bones had been the resident in charge that day. As he had cleaned and stitched up the wound, he discovered that Jim was new in town and working as a junior associate for one of the larger architecture companies. Something about his eyes had drawn him in even back then, and despite the no fraternization rule, he and Jim had become fast friends when Jim’s clumsiness kept landing him in the ER for a slew of minor injuries.

Friends soon turned into best friends, and if Bones were honest about it, the rest of the world probably thought they were dating. They had fallen into a routine, and a comfortable one at that. So much so that all the places they met for meals and drinks and coffee knew them and their orders. Bones didn’t know if Jim had the same thoughts he did, and he didn’t know how to approach the subject, but even his head nurse at the hospital had figured it out.

_“You know, if you’d just let someone else treat him every time he lands himself in here, you could tap that and not be breaking any rules...”_

He shook his head as Jim was interrupted by their waitress showing up with the drinks they never had to order anymore - a cherry coke with a slice of lime for Jim and an Arnold Palmer for him, the closest he could get to tea sweet enough to remind him of his southern roots.

They both thanked the waitress and nodded in the affirmative to her query of “The usual?” before Jim launched back into his pitch.

“Like I said before, it’s a ten hour drive at absolute best, but chances are it’s at least twelve or thirteen. I mean, I love you and all, Bones, but I don’t know about spending thirteen hours in a tiny vehicle with you surrounded by the idiot drivers in this state.”

Bones chuckled. It was true - thirteen hours in the car with Jim would more than likely result in one of them killing the other, and it would probably be him killing Jim. He still wasn’t sure about the flying part though.

“What about the train? Doesn’t it run all the way down the coast?”

“Yeah I looked into that. Flying is quicker, easier, saner, don’t give me that look, and I really think you’ll be fine. It’s a short two hour flight. You don’t even have enough time to watch a movie because half the flight is the ascent and descent. Please, Bones? For me?”

Here Jim broke out the puppy dog eyes and the look of guilt. Bones hated that it worked every time and that he still hadn’t figured out how to counteract it. Recently there had been times he wasn’t sure he wanted to counteract it, and those were the times he kept shoving behind a locked door in his mind. 

“Alright. I guess I can always take a light sedative before the flight.”

“So you’re going then?!”

“Yes, you knucklehead, I’ll go with you.”

“Alright! Oh man, I’m so excited! This trip’s going to be so much fun, we’re going to have such a good time and it’ll be relaxing for you, a nice break from the hospital and-”

Bones laughed as he cut Jim off.

“Jim, calm down. It’s just a short trip.”

“It’ll be the best short trip of your life so far. I promise.”

Bones just shook his head as his laugh turned to a chuckle. Jim pulled his phone out of his back pocket excitedly.

“Alright, I’m sending you the dates to your work email so you can take care of that when you get back after lunch.”

Jim’s fingers danced across the touchscreen keypad as the waitress returned with their sandwiches. Once Jim had sent the email and tucked his phone back into his pocket, he and Bones dug into their lunch and ate in companionable silence, watching the crowds on the pier and occasionally commenting on a few of the more obvious tourists.

When they had finished eating the waitress returned with refills and the bill. It was Bones’ turn to pay this time, but Jim gently grabbed his wrist when he reached to take it from the waitress. It definitely wasn’t the first time Jim had ever touched Bones, but it wasn’t until recently that Bones had begun to notice the feel of Jim’s hand in terms like “soft” and “gentle” and there was a slight awkwardness that he hoped wasn’t showing in his eyes as Jim’s locked onto his.

“I’ve got it today, Bones,” Jim said quietly as he tore his gaze from Bones to smile at the waitress. Bones was a little taken aback by Jim paying when it was his turn, but his brain quickly turned towards travel plans and whether or not this trip with Jim was such a good idea. The whole last month he’d been fighting these feelings for Jim more frequently and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to spend a whole week with them shoved in his face. 

They finished their drinks in a slightly awkward silence, the first in a long time, as they waited for the waitress to bring Jim’s card back. Thankfully, Bones’ pager went off just as she returned, sparing them an awkward goodbye.

“I gotta go, Jim, the ER’s about to be very busy.” He stood hastily and tossed back the last swallow of his drink before turning to smile at Jim. “Sorry. And thanks for lunch!”

Jim gave an understanding smile and waved him off, chuckling to himself as Bones hurried through the tables and hailed a cab rather than catching the trolley like he usually did. He continued to sit there for a few more minutes, just sort of letting his gaze drift back and forth across the cafe and the pier. The waitress noticed Jim was still there by himself, not the usual routine for these two, and stopped by the table again to check on him.

“Everything okay, Mr. Kirk?” she asked, using his formal name knowing it would get a rise out of him and lighten his mood.

Startled out of his pensive silence Jim chuckled.

“Jim, Gaila, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Jim?” She giggled at him as he winked at her. “I’m fine hon, just thinking. I can leave if you guys need the table.”

She shook her head at him. “The lunch rush is over, you can sit here as long as you like.” He smiled warmly at her but there was a look of something in his eyes she hadn’t really seen before. “Hey, I’m on break in a few minutes, want me to bring you another coke and you can talk about whatever it is that’s obviously on your mind? Sometimes we waitresses are as good as a barber.”

Jim laughed loudly at that and nodded. “If you think you can stand to listen to a bunch of random nonsense, sure. I’m not entirely certain what’s going on in my head right now.”

Gaila bit her bottom lip to stifle a giggle as she watched Jim look dejectedly in the direction Bones had left in. “I’ll be back.”

She wandered away to check on her other tables and Jim shifted his chair so he was facing the ocean again. He stared rather blankly at the crowds, his mind never really focusing on any one thing the entire time he waited for Gaila to rejoin him. This time he was jolted out of his daze by the noise of the glass being set down with an intentional thunk on the metal table and the scrape of the chair against the concrete.

“So, Jim. These mixed up thoughts of yours wouldn’t have anything to do with your friend who just left, would they?”

Jim looked over at her with a puzzled expression as she sipped from a glass of iced tea. “You mean Bones? What makes you think that?”

She set down her glass determinedly and turned her chair so that it was easier to look him directly in the eyes.

“You two have been coming here every week on the same day at the same time at least as long as I’ve been working here, and Janice says she’s been seating you guys for longer than that, so we’re talking over a year. You’re obviously good friends, but I’ve never seen either of you here with anyone else, and I’ve seen the way you look at him when he’s not looking at you.”

“Wait, what?”

She held up her hand as she took a long drink from her glass, indicating she wasn’t finished. “I don’t know what you two discussed today, but you’re concerned about whatever it is. And,” she leaned in as she lowered her voice, “this was his week to pay and you did instead. Don’t think I didn’t see that, or the way you touched him. Jim Kirk, I do believe you’ve got feelings for your friend.”

She sat back, a small smug smile on her face as she proceeded to quickly finish the rest of her tea. Jim sat rather stupefied at her statement. He had been very pointedly telling himself for quite some time now that that was not going on. Well shit, did that mean Bones had picked up on it too? 

Gaila, amazingly perceptive, watched the train of thought cross his face and decided to put him out of his misery for the time being.

“Don’t worry. Considering you didn’t even know it till I said it, I’m sure he doesn’t have a clue. You boys are generally clueless are when it comes to stuff like this.” She winked teasingly at Jim. 

Jim looked less confused though just as concerned as he had when she sat down. She glanced at her watch and realized she had to get back to work.

“Jim, I’m sorry, I’ve got to clock back in. I hope I didn’t make things worse for you, but for what it’s worth,” she paused and pushed her chair back away from the table, “If I never knew anything about you two at all, and had merely observed you from a distance for the last year, I’d think you two already were dating. You two just seem like you fit.”

She left the table, Jim shocked into silence at her last statement, and threw a smile over her shoulder as she made her way through the maze of tables. Jim chugged the remainder of the coke she had brought him and stood determinedly. He stopped at the hostess station on his way out and left a twenty dollar bill with Janice to give to Gaila anonymously.

###

The next two weeks went by in such a blur for both Jim and Bones that neither of them had much time to think about the potential awkwardness that could exist when they met for coffee, lunch, drinks, or dinner. Each had canceled at least one of their usual outings while trying to take care of last minute work things, but neither thought anything of it since they were so swamped as well.

Both times they had lunch at the cafe on the pier Gaila only smiled knowingly at Jim and didn’t charge them for their drinks. When Bones had started to ask her about it, she threw them the, “You two are here all the time and so good to all of us, it’s the least I can do,” line.

Bones was frantically trying to make sure there wasn’t anything he was forgetting about at the hospital, even though Christine assured him over and over again that the place would be fine without him for a few days and that the nurses might even enjoy the break from his sarcasm and surly attitude. 

While Bones was busy out of necessity, Jim had made himself busy to avoid thinking about all of the things that Gaila’s observations had caused to sprout in his brain. For all intents and purposes, Jim should have been completely free having just sold one of his designs to a major player in the retail real estate market, but he wasn’t comfortable with his brain having all the free time to think, so he agreed to have an intern shadow him for the next week. When he wasn’t at work trying to teach the new boy genius Pavel about how the architecture world worked, he was off making phone calls and researching plans for the upcoming trip with Bones.

Though he wasn’t consciously acknowledging it, he wanted this trip to be perfect. He had double and triple checked with the hotel to make sure that they had two rooms, next to each other, and that everything was in his name with explicit instructions for all charges from both rooms to be on his bill and not put on another credit card without his consent in person. He had sweet-talked the woman at the airline to upgrading their tickets to first class so that Bones would have more room to feel less claustrophobic, and that they would be able to board in the first group, giving him time to get settled. Then there was the older woman at the car rental company who simply said “Enjoy your trip young man!” and upgraded his rental without him saying a word. Jim threw up a “Thank you!” to whichever deity was in charge of him now having a gorgeous convertible for the price of a sedan.

Then there were the plans for the events of the trip. He had worked it out with his friend to leave their badges for Comic Con at the hotel in his name, along with a parking pass that he hadn’t known was coming but was thoroughly grateful for. This reminded him to make a note on his list to make sure he had plenty of cash for valet parking for the weekend. After he had nailed down those plans, he asked around and decided on the famous San Diego Zoo and the apparently “equally awesome” Balboa Park.

When he had been early to meet Bones for coffee the morning before they left, one of the baristas recommended the coffee house he where he worked before moving to San Fran to go to school. He said they had amazing coffee and food as well, and gave Jim the address, phone number, and general directions from the different areas of town. He had just finished making the notes in his phone when Bones had come strolling through the door. Later that morning when the baristas dumped the tip jar to split it amongst themselves they were delighted to find a fifty dollar bill.

###

When his alarm went off at four that morning Bones suddenly couldn’t believe he had agreed to the crazy time table Jim had worked out. He was grateful that Jim had handled all of the details and planning, but it had taken him forever to get to sleep the night before from the adrenaline that had come out of nowhere the moment his head hit the pillow. Denying the urge to hit the snooze button and roll back over, he turned the alarm off and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He yawned, stretching his arms over his head, then pushed the sheet back and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He sat there for a few moments willing his mind and body to finish waking up, scratching his shoulder absentmindedly before rubbing the back of his neck where a slight twinge of discomfort was making itself known. He must have slept in a funny position, and he rolled his neck and shoulders a few times, trying to work the kink out. His neck cracked in the same moment that he heard the beeping of the coffee pot from the kitchen signaling that coffee was ready, and he stood, stumbling into the kitchen to begin his usual morning routine two hours earlier than would have been normal this week.

Meanwhile across town Jim stepped out of the shower, right hand reaching for his towel, his left fumbling for the play button on the iPod dock. He gave himself a quick once-over with the towel before wrapping it around his waist as the sounds of Viva la Vida filled the bathroom and bounced off the tiled walls and floor. He’d had a hard time falling asleep the night before as he tried to go to bed early, and between his typically abnormal sleep patterns, the adrenaline over the trip, and the freaking out his brain was doing pretty constantly for the last few days, he was wide awake at 3:15. He stayed in bed for fifteen minutes trying to will his body back to sleep, but finally gave in and staggered to the kitchen to retrieve ‘the good stuff’ out of his coffee cabinet before returning to the bathroom to start the coffee pot he kept in the bathroom for times like this.

He poured himself a cup and inhaled deeply before taking a long sip as the music swelled and he found himself tapping his foot to the rhythm - this song never failed to get him going in the mornings. He leaned against the sink, one foot crossed over the other and half sang along as he reverently consumed the whole cup of coffee before the next song in his “WAKE UP” playlist started. As the first strains of Santana drifted out of the speakers Jim turned around and set his mug on the counter, hips moving to the latin rhythm as he grabbed the stick of deodorant and contemplated his razor. Dancing around a bit he finally settled on not shaving, hoping the five o’clock shadow from yesterday looked as good as he thought it did.

As the song continued he cranked the volume and salsa’d into his bedroom, pulling the clothes he’d picked out the night before out of the closet and put them on as he sang along. Somewhere between tucking his black undershirt into his jeans and attempting to correctly fasten the buttons on the Egyptian-blue button-up he slipped on, his thoughts had drifted to an image of Bones dressed similarly, dancing with him as Jim tried - Jim shook his head, trying to clear the image from his mind, and quickly finished dressing as the song came to an end and he shut the iPod off.

Looking down at his watch as he slid it onto his wrist and fastened the clasp, Jim realized he still had a half hour before the car he’d arranged to pick up him and Bones would be there. He made a last run through his bathroom, picking up his iPod and toothbrush and packed them in the spots he had left open for them in his carry-on, then cleaned up the coffee pot and his mug and looked at his watch again. Still twenty minutes left. Jim gave both of his bags another quick once-over, then pulled up all of his travel documents on his phone, double checking everything one last time. Jim sighed loudly, he still had ten more minutes before the car would be there, so he collapsed onto the couch and pulled up the Snood application on his phone - he could stand to have his mind numbed a bit this morning.

Where Jim was anxious but calm, Bones was a nervous wreck and absolutely certain he had forgotten to pack something, he just didn’t know what that something was. He had tried not to hurry through his shower, knowing it would be the last good shower he’d have for nearly a week - he hated hotel showers almost as much as he hated flying, filthy germ incubators - but he wanted to double check his vacation reply setting on his email and his bags again one last time before Jim showed up.

He had just zipped the bag he was checking and was about to open his carry-on when his phone buzzed in his back pocket. He fished it out and thumbed the touchscreen over to his text messages.

_Leaving my place now, be outside in 10._

Well, that ended his bag check. He tucked the Blackberry back in his pocket and carried his bags to the door, then walked through his house making one last check of lights, windows and doors. The neighbor kid Wesley already had the key to the mailbox and a spare house key “just in case” and his mother had mouthed “No parties, I promise” over her son’s head just before Bones had left the afternoon before.

He poured the last of the coffee in his travel mug, tossed the filter in the trash, rinsed the carafe, and then took the kitchen garbage out to the can in front of the house. He was dropping the lid on the can when he saw a dark car turn the corner onto his street and flash its lights. Bones assumed that was Jim and hurried back inside to retrieve his two bags. As he was locking the door the car pulled into the driveway and before it stopped Jim was clamoring out of the backseat.

“Dude!” Jim barely whispered in excitement. “Are you excited? I’m excited! A whole week of nothing Bones. Just you and me and a whole lot of nothing.” His bright smile reached his eyes, which not even the dark of the early morning could dim.

“You and me, and forty thousand other people in the convention center, plus the population of San Diego,” Bones mumbled back.

Jim laughed and took the larger of Bones’ two bags to put in the trunk as Bones slid into the backseat of the hired car with his backpack. Jim got in on the other side and the driver headed for the airport.

“Jeez, we could have done super shuttle or taken a taxi.”

Jim waved his hand in dismissal. “No way, I figured we might as well pull out all the stops this trip and enjoy it. Who knows when I’m gonna be able to convince you to take time off from the hospital again?”

Bones just shook his head with a wry grin, knowing Jim was right, and settled in for the short ride to the airport.

###

When Jim had volunteered to make all the arrangements and such, Bones had briefly wondered if it was a good idea, but he knew Jim was responsible and never gave it another thought. The fact that Jim always changed the subject when Bones tried to ask him how much he owed him for his share of the trip should have been his first clue. The towncar to the airport should have been his next clue, but since it was early and he still hadn’t finished his first cup of coffee, he pushed it aside to bring up later. Needless to say, he should have seen the first class tickets coming, but he refrained from making a scene in the airport. Instead he channeled that energy into not having a full blown panic attack on the flight.

Bones did okay in airports. He had no problem retrieving someone from them, dropping someone off, and the three times in his life that he could remember actually flying somewhere were much like this time - he was perfectly fine until they made the boarding call. It wasn’t until that moment that his brain gave up pretending that he wasn’t going anywhere and the result was every muscle in his body tensing and refusing to obey even involuntary signals his brain would send, his eyes refused to blink and his body forgot to breathe.

Jim had been prepared for Bones to freak out, but not quite like this. He stood from the seat beside Bones, slung both his and Bones’ bags over his right shoulder and then stood in front of Bones and leaned down, getting right in his face.

“Bones, you gotta breathe. If nothing else, right now you have to breathe, okay?” Jim’s voice was barely above a whisper, not wanting to draw any undue attention to Bones’ plight.

Jim caught the barely perceptible twitch of Bones’ head that should have been a full nod and watched his friend’s nostrils flare and his chest very shallowly rise and fall.

“That’s good, Bones. Again.” Another shallow breath. “Mmhmm, deep breaths though. Your brain needs the oxygen so you don’t kill all those brilliant doctor brain cells of yours.”

Bones eyes flicked to meet Jim’s with a glare before he finally closed his eyes and took a deep breath this time. Jim counted that as progress.

“Okay. Time to stand up and get in line.”

Jim didn’t want to undo everything he had just accomplished by mentioning the plane, and he decided to talk Bones through this in the smallest pieces possible. Jim took a step back but stayed bent down so that his face was still level with Bones for the moment. Bones swallowed hard, took a deep breath and then pushed up off the arm rests he had been gripping. Jim straightened his posture as Bones stood, never once looking away.

“You’re doing awesome, man. I’m going to come stand next to you and walk beside you for now, okay?”

Bones nodded, his voice still missing in action, and his eyes tracked Jim’s every move. Once he was standing next to Bones he slowly reached up and softly placed his hand on Bones’ shoulder.

“Just keep looking at me, Bones. We’ll do this together.”

Bones’ face softened slightly at that statement and suddenly his right hand shot out and clamped onto Jim’s left elbow. Jim let his hand slide off Bones’ shoulder to fall in between them, and Bones slid his hand from Jim’s elbow to his upper arm. Jim reached over with his other arm and patted Bones’ hand gently before he slipped both of their IDs and boarding passes out of his back pocket, glad they had thought of that earlier.

As the short line of pre-boarders diminished in front of them, Bones’ grip on Jim’s arm grew tighter and tighter with each step closer to the jet-way. When they finally reached the woman taking boarding passes, Bones’ breathing started to become more rapid and shallow, and Jim was concerned he was going to start hyperventilating. He flashed his biggest and brightest smile to the woman who smiled back understandingly and quickly handed him back their IDs.

He practically pushed Bones forward a few steps to get them out of the way of the people behind them and then turned to face Bones.

“Bones, man, you are so close! I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere. Keep breathing deep in and out, okay? Deep breaths, and it’s just a little further.”

Jim turned so that he could keep eye contact with Bones and see the rest of the jet-way out of the corner of his eye and started moving again. Bones followed, slowly, but he kept moving. Jim kept up a stream of soft encouragement all the way into the plane, not acknowledging it until they were all the way through the tiny entryway and in front of their seats.

“You did it! These are our seats, we’re here, and it’s almost over!”

Jim smiled broadly at Bones who finally looked away from Jim and around the plane. His eyes widened and his breathing turned shallow again, and Jim grabbed both of Bones’ shoulders and gently maneuvered him into the aisle seat. The week before Bones had finally told Jim about his inexplicable fear of flying (“I don’t know why it freaks me out so much, it just does dammit!”), what Jim could expect, and the fact that he needed to be in an aisle seat at least during take-off and landing.

Jim was glad he had gone with first class because he had room to crouch beside Bones in between their two seats to talk him down from this latest surge of panic. He put one hand on Bones’ shoulder and gently grabbed his chin with the other, forcing Bones to quit looking around and focus on him.

“Deep breaths remember? I know you hate the whole breathing into a paper bag idea, but if you don’t calm down just a little and take some deep breaths, you’re going to have to.” Bones nodded and tried to steady his breathing. “Good. That’s real good. Now, while I’m getting our stuff settled, how about if you close your eyes and talk me through one of your surgeries? It’ll get you focused on something else.”

Jim waited till Bones got his breathing under control, closed his eyes and started mumbling. Jim couldn’t really hear what Bones was saying, but it didn’t matter. He stood up, careful not to bump his head as that was the last thing he wanted Bones to freak out over, and motioned to one of the flight attendants as he lifted their two bags into the compartment above them.

“Your friend doesn’t do so well on planes I gather?” the flight attendant whispered to Jim. He shook his head in response.

“He’s a doctor though, so he’s good in a crisis. I fly quite a bit, so I’ll make sure he’s settled and such. I just wanted to let you know so you don’t think he’s sleeping through the safety spiel.”

“No problem. We appreciate the heads up. Don’t hesitate to grab one of us if there’s anything we can do for either of you.” She smiled warmly at Jim and he thanked her, flashing his charming smile at her.

She continued through the plane, and Jim turned back to Bones, who was still murmuring with his eyes closed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the tiny packet of ear plugs. He knew they wouldn’t mask all of the sound, but they’d help some. He stepped over Bones and sat in his seat before leaning over and tapping Bones on the shoulder.

“Hey, Bones, can you put your seat belt on now?” Bones continued to mumble as his hands fumbled for the seat belt pieces. Jim reached over and picked them up, placing them into Bones’ hands. “Awesome. Now, I have a pair of ear plugs if you want them.”

Bones suddenly stopped mumbling and opened his eyes, turning his head toward Jim. He seemed to have regained a lot of control, but Jim could see he was still rattled.

“Thank you, Jim.”

It was the most sincere Jim had ever heard him and he smiled back at him.

“No thanks necessary, you’d do the same for me. Now, the ear plugs, do you want them?”

“No. I think I’ll be okay without them, but...” Bones trailed off and flicked his gaze from Jim’s down to his hands that were back on the armrests.

“But what, Bones? What can I do?”

Bones swallowed and then looked back at Jim.

“Can you just talk to me until we...? Talk about the office, talk about one of your designs, tell me the entire plot of the last book you read, I don’t really care. Just give me something to focus on?”

“Sure thing, Bones, sure thing.”

Bones leaned his head back in the seat and closed his eyes, as Jim buckled his own seat belt and got situated to where he could talk softly to Bones without being distracting to the other passengers or the flight attendants. He started with a funny story about the genius intern he’d taken on the week before, and then drifted from topic to topic.

He talked almost all the way through the whole flight. When one of the flight attendants came by to check on them she never said anything and just exchanged smiles with Jim. Noticing he had been talking nearly non-stop she didn’t even ask Jim if he wanted anything to drink, just brought him two bottles of water and winked.

By the time the plane was in its final stages of descent Jim wasn’t even sure what he was talking about anymore, he just kept talking, describing the detail of the fabric on their seats, the people around them, even describing what they both were wearing. When the plane actually touched down, Bones blinked his eyes open and turned to look at Jim.

“You okay?”

“I’m good, Jim. Ready to stretch my legs and get out of this tin can, but I’m good.” He paused, staring into Jim’s eyes and trying to convey every last bit of gratitude he could. “Thanks again.”

“Don’t mention it.”

One of the flight attendants began the standard landing speech and the moment the seat belt light went off Bones unbuckled his and stood, stretching. Jim laughed to himself, musing inwardly that it was like a completely different Bones was standing next to him. He slowly got up, stretched himself, and then helped Bones pull their bags out of the overhead compartment. Bones flashed his warmest southern smile to all of the flight attendants as they exited the plane and moved much quicker down this jet-way than he had two hours before.

Jim inhaled deeply as he crossed the doorjamb of the plane and let the moisture in the air sink into his lungs and skin. San Francisco was a coastal city too, but there was just something about southern California that San Fran would never be able to match. He smiled at how much more relaxed Bones’ was now that the flight was over and hurried to catch up with him.

“So, Bones, you up for breakfast?”

###

The two bantered easily back and forth as they headed for baggage claim and then the car rental counter. Bones was surprised by the convertible, but chalked it up to another thing he should have seen coming. Check in wasn’t until 3:00 but because it was con week the hotel was allowing people to check in as early as 11:30 and even offering to hold luggage if they needed.

Jim looked at the clock on the dash - 9:00 - plenty of time for breakfast at the place Gaila had recommended to him then. He pulled the map out of his bag, spent a minute or so orienting himself, and then started the car.

By the time they finished breakfast, argued over who was buying (Jim won again somehow) and made their way to the hotel it was almost noon. The lobby was busy, and Jim was willing to bet a very large sum of money that the majority of them were there for Comic Con judging by the number of themed t-shirts and the random bits of conversation he could hear. He and Bones stood in line, quietly musing to each other about the others in the lobby, both of them feeling slightly out of place in the crowd, but looking more like they belonged in the fancy hotel than everyone else.

“I dunno, Bones, I kinda wish I’d worn my Transformers t-shirt now. To normal people we’d look like we’re here on business, but,” he paused looking for the right words and suddenly feeling very awkward.

“But to this crowd we probably look like we picked the wrong weekend for our super secret highly torrid affair?” Bones finished for him, picking up on Jim’s awkward hesitancy and suddenly feeling it himself. “Who really cares though, Jim. You look way more respectable than that guy over there.”

Bones nodded to the guy who just walked in the door. Well, he assumed he was a guy - the baggy Nintendo lounge pants topped with a PlayStation sweatshirt, hood up, and the black thick-rimmed glasses that hid the eyebrows made it difficult to tell. Jim burst into laughter before quickly reigning it in and slapping a hand over his mouth to hide the telling smile. Bones chuckled quietly and looked away before Jim’s laughter instigated more of his own.

Thankfully before either of them could make any more quips, the people in front of them finished and it was their turn to check in.

“Welcome to the Bay Club Hotel, what name is your reservation under?” The young woman smiled warmly at Jim.

“Hello...” Jim looked down briefly to read the name badge, “Tina. Reservation for Kirk, James.” He smiled back, turning the charm on full force. Even though they were probably full, it never hurt to be nice to the desk clerks in case there was a chance for a room upgrade.

She brought up the reservation and reached for a couple of room keys from the stack on the desk. “Yes, Mr. Kirk. You’re in luck, your room was checked out of early this morning and will be ready in half an hour.”

“Room?” Jim’s smile faltered for an instant in confusion. “You mean one of the rooms will be ready and the other won’t be until later this afternoon?”

“No sir, just the one room. I’m only showing one room under your reservation.”

“But I made the reservation for two. I have my copy of the reservation right here.” Jim pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up the appropriate screen before turning it toward Tina. She glanced at it, brows furrowed, and then looked back up at him.

“I’m sorry for the mix up, Mr. Kirk. If you’ll just give me a moment I’ll get my manager over here to sort things out for you.”

Though frustrated and slightly flustered about the idea of sharing a room with Bones, Jim smiled at the young woman in a manner he hoped was polite and understanding. “Sure, no problem.”

Bones took a step forward and whispered so as not to be overheard by the other guests. “They only have one room for us? Murphy’s law.” He chuckled. “I’m just glad it wasn’t the flight.”

Jim rolled his eyes and smiled - of course Bones would think that. Before he could comment, a tall, slender man with an imposing presence approached the counter where they stood waiting.

“My name is Spock. Miss Lawton has explained the basics of your situation to me and I must apologize for the inconvenience. If you will allow me just a moment to confirm a few details in the system before we continue?”

Jim and Bones were both so taken aback by the man’s stiff but not wholly unpleasant demeanor that neither could do anything but nod. Spock’s fingers flew across the keyboard in short bursts, and after a few moments he seemed to be satisfied with his efforts.

“I do see your original reservation from sixteen days ago requesting two rooms and copious notes regarding such. However, we had a large server issue last week and apparently when the data was restored there were some errors. Unfortunately, due to the convention in town this weekend, we are booked nearly solid and I am unable to offer you two adjacent rooms. The room the computer procured for you that Miss Lawton brought up has a single king sized bed in it, and we do not have rollaways to offer to you in the wake of a second bed.” 

Jim’s brain kicked into problem solving mode at the idea of having to share a bed with Bones. It wasn’t as if the thought had never occurred to him, it was just that it had only ever been in confusing dreams that necessitated cold showers when he awoke from them. There had to be another option. He continued to stare at Spock and said nothing.

“I’m afraid the only other room I can offer you at this point is one of our bay view suites, which at least has a sofa sleeper in addition to the king sized bed. I will also be taking two nights off the final cost of your stay, computed at the price of the king room you were offered initially, as an apology for our error.”

Jim and Bones sighed in relief at nearly the same time, both figuring the other was glad they weren’t going to have to try and call around to find a hotel this late in the game of con weekend.

“We’ll take it.” Jim straightened from where he had been leaning against the counter, subconsciously wanting to look more respectable in front of this strange man with the odd bowl cut. “Thank you very much, Spock. My friend and I really appreciate your offer.” Jim started to offer his hand, but something about the man made him reconsider.

Spock made the appropriate adjustments in the system and swiped the key cards Tina had set aside earlier.

“May I assume that the rest of the notes from the original reservation are still to be observed?” Jim nodded and Spock hit the button to print the appropriate paperwork. Bones raised an eyebrow in question at Jim, who promptly ignored it.

“This room also had an early check out and is almost ready. If you two gentlemen want to have a seat either inside or on the patio, I will have someone assist you with your bags and park your vehicle as soon as the room is ready.”

Bones started to speak, Jim figured to decline the offer of help with the bags but Jim quickly silenced him with a look and a hand on his arm.

“I think we’ll enjoy the weather outside, Spock. Thanks again for all of your help. I’ll be sure to make a phone call to the main office with a glowing review.” Spock simply nodded and stepped away from the desk to allow Tina to resume her place.

The pair wandered outside and Jim found a bench in the sun that he quickly sat down on.

“A suite, Bones! I was looking at them when I made the reservation and they’re pretty sweet.” He laughed at his own inadvertent pun. Bones just rolled his eyes and sat beside him. “The only reason I didn’t give it serious thought was the lack of two proper beds for the price, but hey, for the deal he just gave us, I won’t complain. I’ll totally sleep on a sofa sleeper.”

Bones had closed his eyes and tipped his face to the sun, enjoying the warmth, but snapped them open as he turned to Jim.

“You’re not sleeping on the couch, Jim. Since you still refuse to tell me what I owe you,” Jim looked away and pretended to study a nearby palm tree. “I’ll sleep on the couch and you can take the bed.” Jim just shook his head as though he were thinking about something else altogether and Bones just grumbled. “We’ll discuss it later then.”

The two sat in silence for the few more minutes it took for the two employees to retrieve them. They introduced themselves and told Jim and Bones that Spock had assigned Kyle to be their valet and Kevin their personal concierge for the duration of their stay.

“If there’s anything you need at all, Mr. Kirk or Mr. McCoy, please don’t hesitate to call me.” Kevin handed Jim a card with his name, cell phone number and hotel extension on it, and Kyle followed with one as well.

“Whenever you need your car just call the number on the card and follow the directions and it’ll page me. You can also page me when you’re on your way back. I’m on duty from eight in the morning till ten at night, and Kelso’s covering overnight this week.”

“Thanks guys, and please, call me Jim. Mr. Kirk makes me feel old.”

“You can call me Leonard.”

The two men nodded and Kyle took the keys from Jim to drop their bags off at the room and park the car in the secured lot as Kevin gave them a brief tour on the way to their room.

“Any other questions or anything else I can do for you two right now?” Kevin asked when they reached the room.

Jim snapped his fingers, suddenly remembering the con badges that had been forgotten in the confusion over the room.

“Actually, Kevin, yes. A friend of mine was supposed to leave an envelope for me at the front desk. He said he wasn’t sure what time today he’d actually be able to swing by, so could you just check when you head back up there and call the room? Or call when he shows up, his name is Gary Mitchell.”

“You got it.”

“Oh! Kevin, one more question.” Jim picked his phone up from the table he had set it down on and pulled up his list of addresses. “This coffee shop was recommended to me. From what I remember from the map I looked at, it has to be close by yeah?”

“The Living Room, yep.” Kevin smiled. “I’ve yet to meet someone who doesn’t like that place. It’s pretty much exactly a mile from here, so it’s a super quick drive, but parking is sometimes scarce, so a lot of guests at this hotel and the other down the way walk there.” Kevin pulled a map out of the welcome folder on the table and a pen from his pocket, marking the coffee shop. “See how all the streets go through? They’re all pedestrian friendly and the neighborhood is totally safe, even late at night because of where we are.”

“Awesome. Thanks for the heads up.”

Kevin marked one more spot on the map, on the same side of the “island” as the hotel. “Also, if you guys like Pacific cuisine and are looking for somewhere for dinner this week, I’d definitely recommend Bali Hai. It’s a straight shot down the road, and they make killer drinks. They’re a little heavy-handed though, so I’d definitely recommend walking if you plan on drinking at all.”

“Pacific huh? Sound good?”

Bones raised his head from his inspection of the mini bar at the mention of strong alcohol. “Any place that’s ‘heavy-handed’ on the alcohol rather than that fruity extra crap sounds good to me.” Jim and Kevin laughed as Jim reached in his pocket before shaking Kevin’s hand with another round of thanks.

###

Jim had surprised Bones by shucking off his button-up and diving right into unpacking. Normally on longer trips he’d be one to do the same thing, but from the beginning Bones had decided he was going to truly try to relax and not get caught up in his usual routines. He would have been perfectly content to kick back on the chaise lounge on the patio and take in the amazing view before allowing himself to be lulled into a light doze by the sounds of the ocean - but apparently Jim had other plans. The rushed unpacking wasn’t one of someone who had an unconscious need to be unpacked before their vacation began, no, this was Jim with an agenda. It might not have had strict time tables and mileage figured to the second decimal place, but he had a plan and Bones wasn’t about to deny all of Jim’s obvious hard work.

Which is how he found himself standing next to Jim, who was laughing hysterically, at a cage of monkeys who had just started throwing their own shit at each other. The monkeys were normal, Jim laughing was to be expected, but what had thrown Bones off was the insane amount of couples around them. It seemed like everywhere he turned he saw another pair - holding hands, staring at each other with googly eyes, sneaking a kiss, hell, some of them weren’t even trying to be discreet about it - and he wasn’t sure if it was just a standard Wednesday afternoon at the zoo or if that part of his brain he’d been trying to ignore was drawing attention to itself by projecting.

He let his mind wander and allowed himself a good long look at Jim while he was captivated by the chimps. He couldn’t remember the last time his best friend looked this relaxed and it did wonders for him. Bones was sure he wasn’t the only one noticing how Jim looked. He’d caught an awful lot of appreciative glances thrown Jim’s way this afternoon, but he secretly prided himself on being the one who knew that it wasn’t just the cloudless San Diego sky’s reflection making his eyes so blue. No, Jim’s eyes really were a brighter blue today, had been since breakfast over massive plates of greasy hash and milky sweet coffee.

An extra loud burst of Jim’s laughter and the accompanying smile slowly drew a parallel one from Bones’ contemplative expression. He didn’t understand why Jim found the scene so amusing, but he figured he loved Jim enough to - no. He shook his head to clear the thought and chastised himself for going in that direction. Jim was his friend, nothing more, and he sure as hell hadn’t given any indication that he could feel the same way. It was an idea best locked up and never let out to play, but damn if it wasn’t constantly picking that lock.

He pushed the thought away, for the umpteenth time, and moved to stand beside Jim in front of the chimps. Jim caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to face him.

“Bones, man,” he stammered as he tried to quell the laughter and catch his breath. “I don’t know why it’s so funny, it just is, you know?”

Bones rolled his eyes and tried not to laugh at Jim. “If you really want to see a real shit fight you can come to the hospital the next time evals are handed out.” Jim looked at him with a raised eyebrow, thinking through what Bones had said and then burst out laughing again. “Come on, Jim, I want to hit the lion exhibit. One of the vets is giving a talk in twenty minutes.”

Jim wiped his eyes as he followed his friend down the path, calm for only a few seconds before he erupted into laughter again at the image he now had in his head of monkeys in lab coats throwing shit at each other. Bones didn’t even bother to ask, just laughed along with Jim and kept walking.

###

It had taken nearly all of Jim’s self control to finally settle down just in time for the veterinary talk to begin. They had managed to snag the last bit of bench in the back of the small amphitheatre that Jim was thankful was in the shade. He was also thankful for the wall behind him. He turned his body just enough to be able to cross one leg over the other without hitting the person sitting in front of him and then twisted his torso so that he was facing the stage - this way if he zoned out he at least looked like he was paying attention.

He watched as Bones leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and propped his chin in his hands. He smiled, recognizing that posture - he was really interested in what this person had to say and wild horses couldn’t drag him from his seat. That thought caused Jim to sigh inwardly though. Not wild horses and definitely not himself. Sure, he knew he could tell Bones he was dying of boredom and they would leave, but it would be reluctantly, and he never wanted to do that to him anyway. Besides, he definitely didn’t mind the view at the moment.

He let his eyes slowly trace the profile of Bones’ face, and by the time he reached his chin he was plagued with thoughts of wondering what it would be like to kiss along that strong jaw. The images in Jim’s mind became a little more vivid before he realized what was going on and he blinked his eyes, trying to shake the visions. It wasn’t the first time Jim’s mind had wandered that path, and lately it seemed the more he pushed it away, the more frequently the idea surfaced.

Bones was hot, no question, but he was also his best friend - it was the argument he’d had with himself over and over again for quite some time. The points rolled around in Jim’s head, bouncing off one another like the balls on a pool table. Bones was the best friend he’d ever had. He had been married - to a woman - but he had also divorced said woman. The last person Jim had been interested in was a woman. He didn’t want to lose his best friend over something he couldn’t yet define. This was the conundrum. What exactly was this?

He watched as Bones shifted slightly forward to be able to hear a question from someone in the front and then chuckle to himself. Even though he wasn’t listening, Jim knew it must have been a rather simple question just from Bones’ reaction - and that started Jim down the road to his answer. He didn’t know when it had happened, but he was at a point where he knew Bones. He knew what to say or do to get a particular reaction out of him, and he knew what Bones’ reactions and responses would be to other situations and stimuli. He knew he hated how he drank his coffee, “all that sugar and cream’ll kill you eventually,” but he also knew that Bones would let it go when Jim was having a rough time or was in celebration mode - like this morning. And Bones seemed to know him, and that was Jim’s favorite thing about him.

He sighed aloud, not meaning to, and Bones turned his head to look at Jim. ‘Do you want to go?’ was written in the slight nod of his head toward the aisle and the raise of both eyebrows, and Jim just smiled and shook his head as he mouthed the word no. Bones looked slightly surprised, but turned his attention back to the speaker and half a grin found its way onto his face.

In that moment Jim knew. He wasn’t sure if he was willing to use the L-word just yet, but he was finally admitting to himself that he had feelings for his friend that were more than platonic and nowhere near brotherly. The only problem was he was pretty sure Bones had no such feelings. He sighed through his nose this time, to keep from further distracting Bones, and closed his eyes as he tried to will the thoughts away into the recesses of his mind.

###

Jim hadn’t fallen completely asleep, just drifted into that barely lucid state as he tried to focus on his latest design to take his mind off his recent discovery. Images of architect scales laid against blue lined prints were floating through his mind’s eye as a soft nudge to his shoulder and a broad hand on his knee accompanied a quiet “Jim, talk’s over.” The two smiled at each other as Jim blinked awake and shook his head to clear the fleeting remnants of blueprints and scale drawings.

They were able to see most of the rest of the animals and explore some of the zoo’s unique offerings due to the extended summer hours, but the meager snacking throughout the afternoon left Jim’s stomach rumbling as dusk set in. Not wanting to leave the serenity the zoo offered as the crowd had thinned of children, he ignored it until a very loud growl echoed in the reptile house and Bones insisted they find “real food, not the junk you’ve been feeding your inner teenager all afternoon.”

Jim’s plan had always been to try the coffee house that night, but not knowing exactly what kind of food they could get at 7:30 in the evening they opted to stop for dinner first. Jim wanted to stop at the first McDonald’s they came across, but Bones argued against it and made Jim keep driving. Not being familiar with the multitude of local hole in the wall offerings, Bones finally conceded when they came across a Chipotle. Over burrito bowls Bones made Jim promise to stop at a grocery store later so they could pick up fruit and snack stuff to take into the convention center the next two days.

By the time they had finished dinner and stopped at the store Bones had insisted on (“I don’t remember seeing another one around the hotel”), and pulled into the parking lot of the coffee house it was 9:30. As Bones pondered the menu and asked the girl at the counter for recommendations, Jim skimmed the articles and pictures on the wall. The building had once been a schoolhouse, and it was a very warm and inviting place. Jim had felt comfortable the instant they walked up the steps and through the old screen door and were greeted by both of the girls behind the counter. If the coffee and the food were as good as he was told, he could see stopping in at least once a day the remainder of their trip.

He heard Bones finally settle on a hot chai tea latte so he turned and crossed the distance in a single stride. The smile he gave the girl behind the counter was relaxed.

“We’re in town for the con, and one of the baristas at my local cafe in San Fran says you guys make great everything, so surprise me.”

The girl behind the counter looked slightly shocked at first but then chuckled when she realized Jim was serious.

“Any allergies or extreme dislikes?” Jim shook his head. “Are you vegan or vegetarian?” Again he shook his head. She pondered for a moment, then smiled mischievously. “How do you feel about cinnamon?”

Jim’s eyes lit up. “I love cinnamon!”

“I know just the thing. Decaf or regular?”

“It’s been a long day so decaf.”

“You got it.” She turned to start his drink, the other girl having already started Bones’. “If you don’t like it, I’ll make you something else.”

Bones wandered through the two small rooms that comprised the coffee house, looking at the various pieces of art on the walls as Jim nearly drooled at the pastry and dessert case that butted up to the end of the counter. Before he could decide on anything Bones had made his way back to stand beside him and his drink was being slid across the top of the case.

“Be careful, the cups get really hot. There’s sleeves behind you on the table there.” The girl smiled shyly as she pushed the drink towards Bones and blushed when he drawled a thank you at her.

Jim glanced at Bones out of the corner of his eye when he heard the rarely used accent and nearly laughed out loud at the sight. The girl obviously thought Bones was gorgeous, (Who wouldn’t? Jim thought) and Bones was indulging her by flirting with her. He tucked it away for later teasing when they were out of ear shot.

While his attention had been split between the case and Bones’ exchange with the younger of the two girls, the older was standing behind the register, his drink on the counter in front of her. She cleared her throat and Jim looked over as the girl flirting with Bones nearly jumped at the sound and quickly excused herself. He grabbed one of the insulated sleeves before moving to the register and carefully slipped it on the lidless cup.

“I know it’s hot, but try it and see what you think.”

Jim lifted the cup to his lips and blew gently across the top for a moment before he took a careful sip. The moment the liquid hit his tongue he closed his eyes and an appreciative “mmm” escaped before he swallowed. He set the cup down so he could put a lid on it.

“That’s amazing! What’s in that? Wait,” Jim shook his head. “I don’t want to know. Ruins the effect when I do. But can you write it down so I can give it to my barista back home to make for me?”

She chuckled and nodded. “But only if you make them promise not to share with anyone else. It’s a specialty of mine I’ve been working on for a while. I’m still tweaking it here and there.”

“Listen, um,” Jim floundered realizing he didn’t know her name.

“April.”

“April, I’m Jim. Nice to meet you.” He stuck his hand out and she took it and shook his hand warmly. “Listen, April. That tastes like perfection. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“Well thank you, Jim.”

“No, seriously. We’re staying down the street at the Bay Club. I will be back tomorrow for one of these, just like this.”

She chuckled and punched their drinks into the register. “Alright, Jim. I’ll leave my ‘secret recipe’ for Jen.” She turned to Bones. “What about you...”

“April, this is Bo-”

“Call me Len and ignore whatever he calls me. And my drink, is also amazing. Best chai I’ve ever had.”

“Glad to hear it, Len,” she emphasized his name smirking at the defeated look on Jim’s face over losing out on his introduction of Bones. “You said you were here for the con, how long you two here for?”

“Through the weekend.” Jim smiled as he signed the receipt she handed him and snuck a ten dollar bill in the tip jar when she turned to look at Bones.

“And Jim’s right about coming back. I will most definitely be looking forward to another one of these tomorrow.”

April laughed. “I won’t be in tomorrow, but I’m working the rest of the weekend, so I look forward to seeing you two again. Tell you what, there’s an apple pie getting ready to come out of the oven. If you two aren’t headed anywhere right away, why don’t you make yourselves comfortable at one of the tables and I’ll bring you both a piece when it’s cool, on the house.”

“April, we couldn’t.”

She waved them off with a hand. “It’s not often we get such enthusiastic visitors around here. Go on.”

Jim and Bones just smiled as she turned back to the kitchen and they wandered through the small back room and outside to find a seat on the porch. A few of the tables had been pulled together in one corner and a group of thirty-something co-eds were playing a board game there. Jim and Bones rounded the corner to find a short row of two-tops empty save for the one on the end where a young couple not much older than Jim sat with their heads together over what looked to be the crossword in the newspaper. They could hear soft chatter coming from around the corner that led to the front where they had come in, and it seemed like everyone there besides them were regulars. It was their kind of place and Jim made a mental note to leave another large tip in the jar at the coffee shop back home for the recommendation.

They chose a table closer to the couple than the group, and Jim immediately took advantage of the short wall in front of him. He pulled his chair back just enough to allow him to prop his feet on it and took another sip of his cinnamon concoction. He shivered as a soft breeze contrasted the warmth of the coffee running down his throat.

“Cold, Jim?”

“Nah. The weather really is perfect right now, don’t you think? It’s nothing like it would be at home right now if we were this close to the water.”

Bones nodded and the two lapsed into companionable silence as they sipped at their drinks and soaked in the ambient noise around them. As hot as Jim’s coffee and Bones’ chai had been, they hadn’t gotten very far into their drinks before April appeared with two slices of warm pie. She had sensed their deep friendship from the moment they walked in the door so she didn’t say anything but “Enjoy” as she set a piece in front of each of them and headed back inside.

###

The pie had been to die for, and Jim insisted on going back inside and thanking the girls again before they left. Bones had taken the opportunity to drop his own tip in the jar while Jim had them distracted with promises of returning the rest of the week.

When they got back to their room Jim found an envelope on the table with their badges, parking pass, and a copy of the programming guide with a note from Gary.

_Snagged a copy of the schedule today when I picked up the badges - don’t know how into the comics scene your friend is, but I remember you said you read them when you were little. Both DC and Marvel have this big double panel tomorrow with some of the older writers and artists, might be a fun trip down memory lane. Also, I know how much you like that show on BBC with the phone booth so check out the page I dog eared. Enjoy!  
~Gary_

Jim quickly thumbed through the pages of the booklet as he made his way to the couch and collapsed onto it. Bones had already grabbed his toiletries bag and clothes to sleep in and was headed for the bathroom when Jim hollered in excitement.

“Bones! Dude! Look!”

Jim’s eyes were glued to the page, his mouth hanging open in awe as he waved Bones over to the couch. Bones rolled his eyes and stopped just in front of the bathroom door.

“Jim, it’s eleven thirty and I have been up since four this morning.”

Jim completely ignored him. “Yeah, it’ll just take a second, promise.”

Bones sighed, and padded barefoot over to stand beside the couch. “What, Jim?”

Jim folded the booklet back on itself and with one hand thrust it in Bones’ line of sight, waiting for his acknowledgement.

“What am I looking at?”

“Bones! It’s a _working_ sonic screwdriver!”

“Huh?”

Jim pulled the booklet away from Bones and stared in awe again. “A replica sonic screwdriver, Bones! And it lights up and makes noise and supposedly has a way to send a signal to a cell phone to make it vibrate!” He collapsed on the couch again.

In his exhaustion that he had become acutely aware of as soon as they got back to the hotel, Bones could only laugh at Jim fondly. Of course he was excited over something like that, from what little bit he had told Bones the single time they had discussed his life growing up it sounded like Jim hadn’t had many toys, and definitely none as cool as this whatever it was he was so excited about. He’d let him have his fun, but it wasn’t going to keep him from sleep.

“Jim.” He waited for a few seconds then said his name again and waited for Jim to look at him. “It’s now,” he glanced at his watch, “eleven thirty-five. I am tired. You _should_ be, and you can look through that over breakfast tomorrow.”

The brief redirection was all it took for Jim’s body to override his mind and he was suddenly conscious of how long he had been up and going pretty much non-stop minus the short power nap at the zoo. He nodded at Bones who smiled in relief.

“Do you want to use the bathroom first? That way you can just get in the bed and crash while I’m - ”

“I already told you, I’ll take the couch. It’s a queen, and this place is nice enough that I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Jim emphasized the last word as he stood and started pulling the cushions off, looking for the handle to pull the unfold the sleeper section.

“No, Jim, I told you earlier if you won’t let me pay for my share of the room I’ll take the couch.”

“Whatever, Bones. Besides, I have weird bouts of insomnia so it makes more sense for someone who’s going to actually sleep for more than a few hours to enjoy the bed.”

“Logically, since you say you’ll sleep less, it makes sense for you to get better sleep when you do. Take the bed.”

“Bones, I’m fine.” There was a sense of finality in his tone and by this point he had managed to get the sleeper portion set up and stooped to pull the pillows and top bed linens out from the short cabinet under the television mounted to the wall. “Though if the offer for first dibs on the bathroom stands I’ll take it. Then I’ll be out of your way and asleep before you finish brushing your teeth probably.”

Bones started to argue again and Jim just gave him a look that said “You cannot win, give up.” He sighed and gestured toward the bathroom. Jim dropped the pillows and blanket on the mattress and navigated around the couch and Bones. “Five minutes, Bones, then the bathroom is all yours.” Jim pushed the door shut behind him and Bones sighed loudly as he quickly dropped his stuff on the nearby table and made quick work of making up the mattress, knowing full well Jim would crash without doing so if he didn’t.

He was flipping through the programming guide when Jim shuffled shirtless out of the bathroom, true to his word five minutes later, and disappeared into the bedroom where his clothes were in the wardrobe. Bones was just getting ready to close the bathroom door when Jim reappeared from the bedroom, in a pair of Batman themed sleep bottoms and still shirtless, his eyes already half-shut.

“G’night, Bones,” Jim mumbled, clapping Bones on the shoulder as he shuffled by him on the way to the couch.

Bones just stared as Jim sat down on the edge of the mattress, flopped backwards, and then rolled over and somehow managed to wriggle himself under the blanket as he wrestled with one of the pillows. The last coherent words Bones heard were “No alarm, just wake me whenever,” and Jim was out like a light.

Bones chuckled softly to himself. He’d check on him in a few minutes when he’d finished his nightly routine and was ready for bed. He turned into the bathroom and could only laugh at the sight before him. In Jim’s sudden onset of exhaustion, the cap to his toothpaste was only half screwed on, his toothbrush wasn’t even in its holder, there were remnants of toothpaste in the sink, and his shirt was hanging from the door knob. Had it been anyone else Bones might have been irritated, but this was Jim, and apparently a very tired Jim at that. Lacking his normal mental filters due to his own exhaustion, Bones was only slightly surprised to find the word endearing in his head when describing the scene in front of him.

He finished brushing his teeth, used the toilet, and changed into his black sleep bottoms and a well worn red and blue Ole Miss debate club shirt. He padded back out to the living room area of the suite, turned off the lights and found himself staring at Jim in the moonlight the window was letting in as he slept. He had never seen this man this relaxed except for... He shook that memory from his mind as he reached down to brush a strand of hair out of Jim’s face, his hand lingering longer than it would have had Jim been awake or he been less tired, jerking his hand back at that realization. A tender smile crept unconsciously onto his face as he whispered “Sweet dreams, Jim,” and padded quietly back into the bedroom and the bed that suddenly seemed way too big for one person.

###

Jim had been right about the not sleeping for long part. Although he did sleep longer than he anticipated, he was still up with the sun. That was the one part about himself he truly wished he could change, but he’d never been able to sleep in, even as a kid on summer break. He very quietly extracted himself from the rumpled sheets, trying to keep the springs in the mattress from squeaking as much as he could, and tiptoed into the bedroom.

He was halted in his pursuit of his clothes by the amazing view through the sliding glass door. He had noticed it briefly yesterday when they first checked in, but he’d been too busy unpacking to truly appreciate it. Jim took a few steps toward the door and crossed his arms, admiring the silent peacefulness. He was just about to pull the curtain across to keep the light from waking Bones when a scratchy voice jolted him out of his relaxed stupor.

“Jim? What time is it?”

“Go back to sleep, Bones, it’s just barely sunrise,” Jim whispered as he drew the curtain.

“Okay, but don’t let me sleep past eight.” Bones rolled over and was instantly asleep again.

Jim chuckled softly as he retrieved his clothes and headed for the bathroom.

###

A little before eight Jim came inside from the patio where he had been going through the programming guide and meandered into the bedroom. He crossed to the far side of the bed where Bones was sprawled and just stared. Bones’ hair was thoroughly sleep mussed, one hand on his chest, and Jim’s heart nearly stopped as his eyes followed the path down Bones’ body. The drawstring on his pants had come undone and his left hip bone was peeking out from the slightly lowered waistline, while his t-shirt was hitched up just enough to show the beginnings of the trail of hair that begged Jim’s eyes to follow just a little bit - Jim pointedly turned his gaze back towards Bones’ face and called his name softly.

“Bones. Hey, Bonesey, it’s almost eight man.”

Bones groaned and rolled over, obscuring Jim’s view from moments before and Jim let out a sigh of relief.

“You told me not to let you sleep past eight. It’s ten till.”

“Five more minutes?” Bones’ face was now buried in his pillow.

“If you get up now, I promise that there will be coffee and breakfast waiting for you by the time you get out of the shower.”

The promise of coffee seemed to do the trick and Bones started to sit up. Jim took that as his cue to leave and headed for the front door of the suite.

“I’ll be back in half an hour,” Jim called over his shoulder as he stepped into the pair of sneakers he had left by the door. He waited until it sounded like Bones was at least out of the bed and then headed for the car.

###

Bones was digging through his toiletries bag in the bathroom for the second time when the door opened and Jim announced his presence.

“I have fresh fruit and warm quiche, but only if you’re already out of the shower.”

Bones scrambled into the olive green t-shirt he had set on the counter and was still tugging it into place as he headed out of the bathroom toward the small kitchen area where Jim had set down the food and, he hoped, coffee. Jim handed him one of the cups and then reached into the brown paper sack for the food.

“I know you said last night you wanted chai this morning, but I figured you’d change your mind and opt for the higher caffeine content.” Bones nodded gratefully. “Careful, it’s probably still scalding.”

Bones took a small sip and closed his eyes with a smile on his face as the strong black coffee slid down his throat.

“Damn that’s good. We need one of these places back home.”

Jim laughed and sat in one of the chairs, digging into his quiche before he was fully seated. He practically moaned as he chewed the first bite. Bones chuckled at Jim’s dramatics as he sat down and took a bite of his own. He was quickly reduced to the same state as Jim, and silence reigned the room as they both demolished their quiche before starting in on the fruit. It was between finishing off the strawberries and picking up the slice of orange that Bones remembered his earlier dilemma in the bathroom.

“Oh yeah, Jim? I forgot to pack my razor, do you have a spare blade for yours I can use this weekend so I don’t have to buy a disposable?”

Jim snorted. “I didn't pack one either, or didn't you see the epic beard I'm sporting today?" He reached up and stroked the stubble on his chin that barely qualified for a five o’clock shadow.

"....Epic....right. Fuck it, I'll go buy one."

"Noooo wait! Just leave it! It's a guys weekend! We can be all manly and scruffy."

"You did not just say that."

"Yeah! Scruffy!” Jim started to growl and then broke off, eyes wide in concern. “Wait wait wait, how fast does your beard grow man? Because I don't want to be left in the lurch like I was during playoffs with Pike. I was pleasantly scratchy and like two days in he was looking like an impeccably dressed mountain man."

Bones stared at Jim as if he had suddenly sprouted an extra head. “I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.”

Jim pouted as Bones drained the rest of his coffee and when it didn’t work he resorted to half-hearted pleading.

“Please, Bones? You’re on vacation man. No hospital, no keeping up appearances, and the only non-scruff nerds that will be at con will be the ones who haven’t hit puberty yet. You don’t want to be lumped in with them, trust me.”

Bones burst into laughter at Jim’s last statement and finally gave in. “Alright alright. I guess a few days of no shaving can’t hurt.”

Jim’s “pouting” instantly turned to a large smile and he pumped his fist in the air with a “YES!” Bones just kept laughing at Jim’s excitement and looked at his watch.

“Come on, Jim, we better get a move on if you want to be there by ten. Traffic’s going to be a bitch.”

###

Jim smiled broadly as they finally reached the doors and the volunteer flashed the black light pen at their badges and waved them through.

“Geek mecca, Bones. No security guards checking your bag or patting you down, no metal detectors, just a badge on a lanyard and hello Nerdopolis.”

Bones chuckled as they moved with the crowd into one of the main aisles. The ratio of costumes to street clothes seemed to be about equal as long as you didn’t count all of the themed t-shirts in the costume side. The people who had been coerced into coming by a friend, relative or significant other were easily identifiable by the frightened look in their eyes and the way they were being dragged through the babbling throngs. They had only been “among the masses” as Jim had put it for fifteen minutes and Bones had already heard ten distinct accents, six foreign languages, and he was pretty sure the guy who just walked by him in the “Bazinga!” shirt was speaking Klingon.

“Bazinga?”

“Doctor Sheldon Cooper from the show The Big Bang Theory. Seriously, Bones, you don’t watch that one? I think you’d like it, it’s smart funny. Bazinga is a Sheldon-ism, but it’s way more fun when you discover it in the show so I won’t tell you about it right now. I think there’s even a panel for it tomorrow, but we won’t go because there’s potential for spoilers for you not having seen the show.”

“Jim, if you want to go tomorrow, we’ll go. I’m sure I won’t be spoiled that much.”

“Dude, you never know. They pull out all the stops at panels, show episodes early, make big announcements. No way, no spoiling. Besides, I’ve got about three episodes to catch up on, and _I_ don’t want to be spoiled, so no worries. So what’s first?”

“Well, I’d say let’s just wander, but I don’t want to forget to get a My Little Pony backpack.”

Jim stopped dead in his tracks and turned to stare at Bones incredulously.

“My Little...Bones, what on earth for?!”

“Jo asked me to bring her something back and she’s really into them right now. I figured if there was anywhere to get something ‘cool’ in that franchise, it’d be here. Weren’t they popular with the girls when we were younger?”

“I’m not even going to ask how or why you know that. Dude, you can get it, but you cannot carry it around so that it’s visible. It goes in an opaque bag.”

“Do you really think we’d catch any weirder looks than some of these costumed geeks?”

“I am totally comfortable and in touch with my inner nerd, but there are still a few fandoms I wouldn’t touch with a fifty foot pole, and that includes anything where screaming young or teenage girls are involved.”

“Oh, so you’re not a secret Twi-hard then?” Bones chuckled as Jim raised an eyebrow at him for a change and did his best to glare. Bones laughed even harder. “I know you’re trying to be scary, but it’s really hard to take you seriously in that shirt.”

Jim’s look changed from one of irritated astonishment to wounded disbelief. “How can you not love the ‘Tardis is greater than Dalek’ shirt? It’s the ultimate equation in the universe, Bones! It’s more important than 42!”

Bones got slightly defensive. “First of all, nothing is more important than 42. Secondly, I can’t be afraid of a salt shaker with arms, nor does a blue telephone booth fill me with ‘awe, wonder and inspiration’.”

“Dude, you should be, you should be.”

Bones just shook his head and laughed at how serious Jim was. “Come on Jim, I checked the list of exhibitors on the way and have an idea where to start looking.”

Jim completely ignored his remarks, but started walking with him anyway. “Dude, when we get back to San Fran we are having a Dr. Who marathon. You need to get this. You’ll totally be a Rose and Tenth Doctor shipper, I just know it.”

Jim continued babbling about Dr. Who for a few minutes as they wandered through the exhibit hall until he was distracted by a cool costume or something shiny in one of the booths. Occasionally Jim would get so wrapped up in something that Bones would have to grab him by the arm and drag him away from whatever had garnered his attention for the moment. Bones was on a mission and Jim could look to his heart’s content once he had his present for his little girl.

###

By the time Bones had finally found a backpack for Joanna three hours had passed, and Jim had amassed more buttons than would fit on his lanyard and managed to trade the Scooby Doo bag he got when they came in for a Big Bang Theory one. He had also managed to fill a good quarter of the bag with random free comic books, fliers about other comic books and geeky things, and was now alternating between whining about being hungry and wanting to figure out where everyone was getting the “uber cool Pac Man lanyards.”

They were almost at the end of an aisle when Bones spotted the sign for food a few aisles over from where they were.

“I’m sure it’s mostly junk, but if you’re serious about getting something to eat, there’s a food stand over there.” Bones thumbed in the general direction of the food stand and suddenly Jim’s eyes lit up as he looked in the same direction. Bones knew that look, and it didn’t go with food. Something had caught Jim’s attention. He tried to follow Jim’s gaze to see what it might be, but there was just too much in that general direction to narrow it down.

“Bones...” Jim whispered in awe. “Do you see that?”

“See what, Jim?”

Jim kept his eyes trained on the mysterious item as his hand reached behind him and flailed around till he made purchase with Bones’ wrist and he latched on, pulling Bones with him. Suddenly Bones saw it too and his eyes widened with the same awe that Jim’s had.

“Is it really?”

“I think so.”

They approached the booth slowly, both vaguely aware of being amazed that there wasn’t a huge crowd surrounding the table, but then were swept back up in the awesome of their find.

“It really is.”

“Wow, who would have thought we would have found it here?”

“Really tho, Bones, where else would you find something so epic?”

“True.”

They were practically drooling by the time the vendor finished helping the person that was there before them.

“Can I help you guys?”

All Jim could do was point. Bones seemed to be the slightly more coherent of the two.

“Is that really what we think it is?”

The guy laughed. “Yep. Sure is. It crossed my path about three months ago and it’s not really in my realm of fandoms so I figured I’d offer it here so that someone who really gets it can enjoy it.”

“You are a good man,” Jim finally managed to get out. “Your karma points just skyrocketed.”

“Well, the question neither of us probably want to know the answer to, but we’re both too enamored not to ask, how much?”

“Eight grand.”

“You’re kidding me,” Jim and Bones said simultaneously. Both had expected a much higher number.

The guy chuckled. “Nope. I just want back out of it what I paid. I got it in a ‘grab bag’ of sorts, and as close as I’ve been able to figure, that’s probably what that one piece of the lot cost me.”

“Dude, I was wrong when I said your karma points skyrocketed before. I think you might actually be the owner of all things karmically good and chief bestower of geek happiness.”

The smile on Jim’s face slowly faded away as he looked up and away from the booth and stared at a point in space beyond them all.

“Uh-oh. I know that look.” Bones grinned. “He’s doing math in his head. While he’s occupied,” Bones lowered his voice and leaned into the counter where the vendor met him halfway. “I’m going to talk him out of this, it won’t be hard. But can you put it away and I’ll be back for it within half an hour? I’ll send him for food and then come back for it.”

“Sure, man. That’s going to make an awesome...I’m guessing Christmas? present for him.”

Bones nodded. “He’s my best friend, so it’s not like I won’t ever get to see it and enjoy it.” He pulled back from the counter and observed that Jim still hadn’t moved. He snapped his fingers in front of Jim’s face. “Hey, Jim, quit crunching numbers and come back to reality. I know you’re trying really hard, but you can’t afford it.” Bones said the last part quietly to continue the facade for Jim in front of the vendor.

“But if I - ”

“I’ll break it down realistically for you over lunch.”

Jim gave a resignedly defeated sigh. “Dude. It’s awesome, and I wish I could, but my friend is right, I can’t. But I might come back by later to look at it again?”

The vendor laughed quietly. “Sure. I’ll let my partner know you two might be stopping back by.”

Jim smiled as best as he could and waved goodbye before turning very dejectedly away from the booth. Bones slung his arm over Jim’s shoulders and steered him toward the signs for food.

“Come on, Jim. Greasy fried stuff always makes you feel better. I’ll even share nachos with you, yeah?”

Jim looked up to find Bones smiling at him comfortingly. “Yeah, nachos. And maybe a corn dog?” That one thought was all it took for Jim’s brain to remember that his stomach had been growling just a few minutes before, and the idea of their epic find was relegated to the back of Jim’s mind for the time being. “Ooh, I wonder if they have Pepsi or Coke. I hope it’s Coke.”

Bones just laughed as Jim continued his food rant. Best. Christmas present. Ever.

###

After lunch and Bones’ successful secret acquisition of what he was now calling “The Awesome” they figured they had about an hour left to spend on the exhibit floor before they had to get in line if they wanted to actually get into the “double header” DC-Marvel panel that Gary had mentioned in his note. Jim knew exactly what he wanted to do with that time.

“Come on, Bones, I gotta see a man about a screwdriver.”

Bones raised an eyebrow in confusion as he tossed his empty cup in the trash. “Screwdriver?”

“Yeah! Remember that page I showed you last night? The working sonic screwdriver from Dr. Who. Seriously, man, once we’ve had our marathon you will totally appreciate the epic that you are about to behold.”

When Bones just stood there, still looking a little confused, Jim grabbed his elbow and started pulling him along behind him - he had flipped to the dog-eared page while they were eating, looked up the vendor in the list and then used the map in the guide to locate the general vicinity of their booth and orient himself. He grinned cheekily when he realized he was only off by about half an aisle.

The smug expression was quickly replaced by one of joyful exuberance when he realized what booth they were standing in front of as Bones glanced around looking for the vendor name Jim had told him to help keep an eye out for. It was Jim’s gleeful laugh that caught Bones’ attention, and he turned to find Jim, what the hell was he doing anyway? Petting a large ball of fur?

“What the hell is that, Jim?”

Jim gasped, truly surprised that Bones didn’t recognize the soft brown object cradled in his hands. “Seriously, Bones?”

At his loud outburst the object began to shake and make noises that were a cross between a cat’s purr and a dove’s coo. Bones started at the sudden change in the object, and then something in the back of his mind clicked.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. A tribble?”

Jim beamed at Bones’ sudden revelation, then promptly tossed the tribble to him. The noises and shaking that had stopped just prior to Jim’s toss started back up again as it landed in Bones’ hands with a jolt. He shook his head in amused disbelief.

Jim caught the attention of one of the three vendors behind the table, but didn’t notice the strange look he was given as his attention was already back on the pile of tribbles on the table in front of him.

“These are so cool, man! How much?”

The man behind the table studied Jim briefly before he shook his head as if trying to shake away a strange thought.

“The smaller ones are fifteen dollars and are activated by bumping them, the larger ones are action and sound activated and are thirty.”

Bones had just set the tribble he had been thrown down on the table and looked back at Jim to find him doing math in his head again. Uh-oh.

“I’ll take six of the little ones and four of the big ones please.” The look in his eyes told Bones there was definitely mischief planned for at least a few of these, but he couldn’t blame Jim really - they were kind of fun, but he’d never admit it to Jim.

Jim and the vendor exchanged pleasantries and there was a joke made about starting a tribble farm. When Jim countered with a quip about his friend being a doctor who could probably double as a veterinarian if need be, Bones just rolled his eyes. The man showed Jim where to change the batteries, and then ran Jim’s credit card as Jim picked out the ones he wanted.

In Jim’s excitement and Bones watching him in amusement, neither noticed the strange glances they got from the vendor as he read the name on Jim’s card and then showed it to the other two working the booth with him.

“J T Kirk? You’re kidding right?”

“I swear to God, Rod, no joke. Look!” Rod and Ryan looked over at the third man who was waiting on the approval from the credit card machine. “Well Trevor, did it go through?” Trevor nodded.

“And doesn’t his friend look like - ”

“Yeah, but are you really going to ask him what his name is?” Trevor and Ryan shook their heads. “Exactly, and who’s going to believe us anyway? Ryan, have him sign the slip, and I got the first round tonight. I think we all need a drink.”

Ryan smiled as he handed Jim the slip to sign and thanked him as Jim and Bones turned and headed for the booth with the sonic screwdriver that Bones had finally spotted. The three men at the Roddenberry booth stared after the two men until they disappeared into the crowd, none of them believing what had just happened.

###

Bones had only been able to laugh when Jim got just as excited about the sonic hammer, no, wait, screwdriver, right, sonic screwdriver, as he had the night before when he first saw the page in the guide, and was as giddy as he had been over the tribbles. When Jim hadn’t been able to decide between the tenth and eleventh doctor versions he consulted Bones without warning or explanation.

“Blue or green Bones?”

“Blue.”

Bones had blurted it out without thinking, realizing afterwards it was his preference for Jim’s eye color that had made the decision for him. He sighed as he pushed the thoughts away yet again, grateful that Jim was too wrapped up in his purchase to notice.

As much as Jim wanted to, he didn’t take his latest purchase out of its box while they waited in line for the panel. “It needs batteries and a real screwdriver to put them in.” The irony was not lost on Bones and he nearly doubled over in laughter.

“Whatever, it’s still awesome. Unlike that...that backpack. Dude, so not cool.”

“Oh, and like your tribble is?”

Jim frowned and pulled the tribble he was currently playing with closer to his chest as if he was protecting it from Bones’ verbal jabs.

“Those things better have an off switch, and they better all be in the off position tonight.”

“Aww, Bones, you mean you don’t want to cuddle with one?” He pushed the tan ball of fur into Bones’ face, rubbing it against his cheek. “Didn’t you see that episode? Tribbles are calming.” He paused and a smirk crossed his face. “Unless you’re a Klingon.” He jerked the tribble back hard enough to cause it to go off again. “Is that mean old Bones a Klingon?”

Bones wasn’t sure whether to laugh or scoff and settled for a sarcastic “Ha!” somewhere in the middle and rolled his eyes, which only served to cause Jim to burst out into laughter.

They were saved from any more of Jim’s antics when the line started to move in front of them. Jim quickly shoved the tribble into the bag with the rest of them before switching the bag to his other shoulder, stretching. This time it was an urge to rub the knot out of Jim’s shoulder that Bones knew would be there and was resisting as they finally began to move.

###

DC had given out an exclusive Comic Con issue of Green Lantern to everyone as they had entered and Marvel handed out vouchers to everyone halfway through the panel to redeem in the fulfillment room, promising something “well worth standing in line for.” Since the fulfillment room was located in the hotel at the north end of the convention center, Bones volunteered to take both vouchers and stand in line while Jim retrieved the car from the garage - he would pick Bones up across the street further down Harbor.

This time Bones was the giddy one as Jim pulled up to the curb where Bones was waiting. He quickly loaded his bag he had been carrying and one of the two from the vouchers into the backseat and then slid into the front seat with the other one. He dug into it excitedly as Jim pulled back into traffic and headed for the hotel.

“Bones, you look like a kid on Christmas. They weren’t kidding when they said it was worth the line huh?”

“These bags are _full_ of trades! Apparently the bags are all different, so I’m calling dibs now, anything Fantastic Four you have in your bag is mine since I stood my ass in line, got it?”

Jim could only laugh. “Sure, whatever you want. You’re the Marvel nut. So I was thinking, back to the hotel and then that Bali Hai place for dinner tonight?”

Bones was totally absorbed in one of the comic compilations he had pulled out of the bag and gave a distracted nod. “Dinner, yeah, whatever.”

Jim just smiled, enjoying the light breeze that came from driving with the top down, and wondered which shirt he should change into for dinner.

###

Jim practically had to tear Bones away from the bags of comic books by the time they got back to their room, but his threat to not change his shirt got Bones’ attention.

“No way am I going to a nice restaurant with you in that shirt. And you know what nights are like here, alcohol or not, it’s going to be chilly walking back, so put on a long-sleeve shirt, and if you don’t have one you can borrow one from me.”

Jim was pleased at how his bluff worked, but it was the offer to borrow one of Bones’ shirts that caught him off guard. He thought for a moment - he had packed a couple of raglans anticipating the chilly evenings, and there was one lonely button up buried at the bottom of his bag that he really had meant to pull out and hang up when they got there just in case he needed it. If he pulled it out and wore it wrinkled Bones would lecture him about that, but if he feigned not having one and Bones ever found out it would just be all sorts of awkward. He was seriously having a hard time choosing the lesser of two evils.

Apparently he was taking too long because Bones huffed in exasperation, rolled his eyes and stalked into the bedroom, returning a few moments (and sounds of hangers being flicked in frustration) later, a white shirt with small blue stripes in hand.

“Here.” Bones tossed the shirt to a dumbfounded Jim before he headed for the bedroom to change his own shirt, calling over his shoulder, “That one’s meant to be worn not tucked in...”

Jim couldn’t hear the rest of his mumbling as the door swung mostly shut, but he was pretty sure it had something to do with his habit of untucked shirts. He couldn’t really focus too much on that though when he was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he was expected to wear the shirt he held in his hands - Bones’ shirt. He quickly put a halt to the direction his thoughts started to drift in, stripped off his shirt and replaced it with the button-up.

He was switching his sneakers for a pair of black canvas slip-ons when Bones came out of the bedroom rolling up the sleeves on the black button up he now wore. Jim swallowed hard when he noticed the top few buttons were undone and Bones gave no indication he was going to finish them.

“Ready, Jim?” Bones said brushing past Jim without looking at him as he picked up the key card he had set down when they came in.

Jim slid his second shoe on and followed a suddenly anxious Bones out the door. He didn’t know what it was about, but the way Bones looked in that shirt, it was going to be a very long dinner. He just hoped the drinks were as strong as Kevin said.

###

The restaurant wasn’t as formal as either were expecting, but it still gave off the chic vibe in droves. The place was pretty busy for a Thursday night, so Jim and Bones started the evening at the bar laughing about the day. By the time the hostess came to seat them they were both two drinks in and laughing as they reminisced about their childhood comic book reading “adventures” - Bones had to stash his under his baseball cards in a trunk in his tree house, while Jim’s were hidden under a loose floor board that he only pulled out to read at night under the covers with a flashlight.

Another round of drinks accompanied by an appetizer sampler was ordered and Jim started mooning about “The Awesome” again. Bones chuckled inwardly as Jim launched into the plan his subconscious had been working on since that afternoon. It wasn’t until Jim pushed the sleeves up his arms for the fourth time that it really sunk in for Bones that Jim was _wearing his shirt_. Warmth flooded his face, and he was grateful they had already been through as much alcohol as they had - if Jim noticed at all he would pass it off as that and not his friend being equally parts turned on and embarrassed at being turned on by something so simple. He reached for his glass to toss back the last swallow and was grateful when the waitress returned with their next round and appetizers as he finished. He took a large swallow of the new drink and ordered another stronger drink before she left.

Jim’s focus on “The Awesome” was shifted to the appetizers which was good for Bones because just as his mind began to question how much more of an agenda was hidden in purchasing it, Jim shifted gears as he bit into one of the coconut shrimp.

“Bones, put down the alcohol and try the food. The shrimp is amazing!”

###

By the time their actual dinners had arrived Jim was thankful for the semester in college he had spent hanging around the speech and debate team. At the time he had been hoping to impress one of the upperclassmen girls, but as he bounced from random topic to random topic with Bones he realized he actually picked up some helpful bits about keeping conversation flowing. This was a good thing, he thought to himself, because the more alcohol he consumed the more his brain wanted to stare at the expanse of Bones’ neck made visible by those top three buttons being left undone. It was downright distracting the images his mind kept coming up with, and he hoped that the flush in his face would be attributed to the alcohol.

###

Dinner itself was so good that conversation came to a near screeching halt as they both focused on the plates in front of them. They were both grateful for the distraction it provided, and neither of them realized how silent they had both gone until Jim’s phone rang just as he pushed his empty plate away.

“Shit! Sorry, Bones, I thought I turned it on silent before we left.” He fished the phone out of his pocket and glanced at the display. “Aww man, I was really hoping not to have to deal with this till after the trip. It’s Pike, I gotta take this.”

Bones waved Jim off as he answered the phone, then chuckled in sympathy, though extremely glad he wouldn’t be receiving any of those phone calls. There were a few benefits to being one of the senior staff at the hospital, such as “vacation” really meant vacation and not “sort of on call for questions the entire time.”

He stared a little too long as Jim quickly and efficiently navigated the tables and headed down the stairs to the quiet of the main entrance. Shaking his head and letting out an actual laugh, he flagged down their waitress. He blamed the alcohol for what he was about to do.

“Yes sir?” She smiled sweetly as Bones flashed the biggest grin he could muster. He was tossing the lock on his feelings for Jim out the window with this request, and he was pretty sure he no longer cared.

###

Bones had guessed right, and dessert showed up moments after Jim returned to the table apologizing for taking so long on the phone.

“Ooh, creme brulee. Did I see a white zinfandel on the menu earlier?” The waitress nodded.

“Excellent choice, sir. A glass for each of you?” Jim looked to Bones who nodded.

“Yes, thank you. And the check when you get a chance?” The waitress nodded and shared a quick smile with Bones when Jim looked down to inspect the dessert between the two of them.

“You ordered dessert? Aren’t you stuffed?”

“Something you learn growing up in the South, there is always room for dessert if you share with everyone else at the table.” Bones picked up one of the two spoons and cracked the top of the creme brulee before looking at Jim with a “Well?” raised eyebrow.

Jim picked up the other spoon and took a small bite, wanting to wait for the wine. He groaned his appreciation.

“Always room if you share huh? I think I’ll have to remember that. Great idea, Bones!”

They both set their spoons down to wait, and Bones noticed the fireworks across the bay out of the corner of his eye. He motioned to Jim to look. They sat engrossed in the colors until the waitress startled them out of their reverie.

“Sea World, every night at 9:50. Enjoy your dessert, gentlemen. If you need anything else just let me know.” She smiled politely and turned to leave the table when Jim stopped her. 

“The check?”

She smiled warmly and didn’t look at Bones once during her reply, just as he’d asked. “It’s been taken care of, sir. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” She spun around and walked away before Jim could reply.

Bones picked up his glass and took a sip, testing the flavor before he took another bite of the creme brulee, all the while avoiding Jim’s glare.

“Bones.”

Bones glanced up long enough to reply, “Jim,” and hold his gaze for a moment before flicking his eyes back to the fireworks as he sipped from the glass of wine in his hand.

“This was supposed to be my treat,” Jim mumbled in a volume that he thought was under his breath, but Bones caught it and looked back to Jim with a confused look on his face.

“Your treat? Jim, this whole trip has been ‘your treat.’ I think I can handle dinner since you won’t let me do anything else.”

Jim stared at Bones for a few moments. “It just - never mind. Thank you for dinner, and for letting me borrow your shirt.” Jim added the end on in a rash moment of inspiration. If he could get Bones laughing he could distract him from the things he almost said - the feelings that he almost admitted to - and they could change the subject. “You were right, there was no way I could have come in here in one of my t-shirts and felt anything other than lame.” He forced a chuckle, watched Bones think through what he said with curiosity and then force a laugh of his own.

Jim quickly polished off his half of the desert and then drained his glass in one long drink as he nervously looked out the window at what he assumed was the grand finale of the fireworks. Bones didn’t understand Jim’s sudden change in mood, but he quickly finished the remainder of the dessert and his wine and pushed back from the table.

“Ready to head back, Jim?”

Jim turned to look at Bones, forcing a smile as he nodded, pushed his own chair back and stood.

“So did you see anything on the schedule tomorrow that you’re interested in?”

###

The chill in the night air cleared some of the haze the alcohol had induced in both of the men, but the quiet of the bay kept them relaxed as they ambled back to the hotel. The conversation about the next day of convention hadn’t lasted long as neither of them had anything specific to do, and despite the moment of tension just before they left the restaurant, they were able to settle into an easy silence.

Just before they got back to the room Bones swung his elbow out and nudged Jim’s arm.

“I’m going to go running in the morning, so I’ll take the couch so I don’t wake you up leaving and coming back.”

Jim slowed to a stop, and it took Bones a moment to notice.

“You run?”

“Yeah. I usually do in the mornings, and with getting ready for the trip and all it’s been about a week since I’ve been. I _need_ to go.”

Jim started walking again, the initial shock having passed.

“How early are you talking? Maybe I’ll go with you.”

A small laugh escaped from Bones. “Well, as long as I don’t wake up totally hung over, and you quit arguing with me about the couch so I can just go in and crash, five.”

“Five?! No thanks I’ll pass. As for the couch, if you’re going to get up so early and run, you should be rested, so take the bed.”

“Jim, honestly, how did you sleep last night? If it was really that bad even you would have complained by now.”

“Awful, Bones, just awful.”

Bones snorted. “Please, Jim, you make a horrible liar.”

“You’re really getting up that early?”

“I’m going to try.”

“And you’re not going to let this go tonight are you?”

“Wasn’t planning on it.”

Jim sighed in defeat as they reached their room.

“Fine, but only tonight, tomorrow I take the couch back.”

###

It had taken both men forever to fall asleep, each assaulted by the scent of the other in the sheets and on the pillows, and Bones awoke even more miserable than he had been in the moments before sleep finally overtook him. He wasn’t as hung over as he had feared - nothing a couple of Tylenol and a bottle of Gatorade from the vending machine in the lobby wouldn’t take care of - but it seemed that with his mental acknowledgement of his feelings for Jim the night before his body had eagerly joined in as well. It had been, well, he didn’t want to think about how long it had been truthfully, but it had definitely been a _long_ time since he had woken with this particular problem.

He quickly got up from the couch, surprised at how well he had slept and how comfortable it actually had been, grabbed his running clothes and headed for the bathroom.

###

Bones shrugged the Ole Miss sweatshirt over his t-shirt, pushed the earbuds in his ears and left the iPod off for the first few minutes of his run. He was frustrated at himself and he needed the silence of the morning to help clear his head. It wasn’t helpful for very long however, as he found himself so focused on analyzing his recent interactions with Jim that he couldn’t fall into the rhythm he usually found so easily. He shoved his hand into the pocket of his pants and thumbed the iPod on and to his running playlist on pure muscle memory alone - only that wasn’t the song that should be playing.

Latching onto the small device he pulled his hand out of his pocket and looked at the screen. He knew the song but didn’t remember loading it. He thumbed back to the playlist itself, “Pike’s Insane Deadline”. He groaned in frustration and slowed to a stop - he had picked up Jim’s iPod by mistake. He thumbed back to the main menu and skimmed the list of artists to see if Jim had anything from his usual list - ah, Journey, that would do. He hit play and broke into a run, cranking the volume probably too loud, but not caring as he tried to drown out everything but the pounding of the pavement beneath his feet.

###

He had planned to take a shower when he got back from his run, really he had, but between the lack of sleep, the mental exhaustion, and pushing himself to run for a full forty-five minutes, when Bones sat down to finish catching his breath, he crashed - head against the back of the couch, one foot dangling off the side and one knee pulled up to his chest.

Which was the same position Jim found him in three hours later when he finally woke up and realized he’d majorly overslept.

“Bones.” He shook Bones’ shoulder and he jolted awake.

“What? Oh crap, how long have I been asleep?”

Jim just laughed. “Dude, I have no idea. It’s a quarter till ten and I just woke up a few minutes ago.”

Bones sat up and stretched, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and rolled his neck and shoulders. “I got back here a little before seven. You want first dibs on the shower?”

“Nah, man, you go first, you look like you need it more than I do right now.”

“Thanks.” Bones rolled his eyes as he stood and picked up the stack of clothes he had left on the end table. “Oh,” he reached into his pocket, pulled out the iPod and tossed it to Jim with a wink. “Your musical taste leaves a lot to be desired.” He was in the bathroom with the door shut before Jim could form a response.

###

The crowd seemed to have doubled from the day before, even though Bones knew that couldn’t be possible due to fire codes, but the volume inside the exhibit hall had definitely increased. Everywhere they looked lines were formed and when Jim asked someone walking by they found out there had been a lot of last minute autograph additions to the day’s schedule - a pretty highly watched web series had the entire cast at their booth, a trio of actors from an older sci-fi show had joined the roster at one of the photo booths, and a couple of the studios had brought in production teams and cast from some of their higher rated shows.

“This is insane!” Bones leaned in closer to Jim to be heard over the din. “Please tell me you aren’t going to try and get in one of these crazy lines.”

Jim shook his head. “Let’s head toward the other end where the collectibles are and see if it’s any better down there. I saw a couple of booths yesterday when we were looking for my screwdriver that I wanted to check out. Besides, you need a geek shirt.”

“A geek shirt?”

“Yeah! You can’t come to con and not leave without at least a shirt that proudly displays your inner nerd.”

Bones laughed, knowing that he wouldn’t win this argument with Jim, and surprised to find that he wasn’t really going to try. Maybe he could find a shirt he wouldn’t mind wearing to the bar occasionally.

They spent the better part of two hours wandering through the aisles that housed the “collectibles” as Jim had called them. Toys, Bones thought, call them what they really were, though he supposed the lack of the juvenile reference made them all feel better about being adults and fawning over things clearly designed for children. And yet, Bones himself was picking through a container of old Transformers when Jim nearly collided into him.

“Bones! I found it! Come on! I found it!”

“Found what, Jim?” Jim was practically dragging Bones by the arm as he led him down the aisle and around the corner to a massive cage-like booth covered in t-shirts. Oh.

Jim pulled him inside and pointed to a navy shirt with a lime green molecule across the front.  
  
Bones stared at it for a moment before it clicked and he dissolved into surprised laughter.

“Who told you what it meant Jim?”

Jim gave an indignant snort. “No one! This one is for you, Mr. Caffeine Addict. And this one,” Jim paused as he turned to retrieve a maroon shirt with a more complicated bright red molecule.  
  
“This one is for me.” His grin contained a hint of a smug leer. “Capsaicin. Because I am.”

“What the - really, Jim?”

“Well it’s true. I’m the hot stuff that keeps on burning.”

Bones snorted. “Only to be snuffed out by milk.”

Jim put the back of his hand to his forehead melodramatically. “Ah, milk, my old nemesis. Once again you have defeated me.” He tried to hold the pose but one look at Bones trying to keep from laughing himself made Jim double over in laughter.

“Alright, Jim, you win this one. But you absolutely cannot ever wear that shirt to the hospital,” Bones struggled to get out as he tried to stop laughing.

That set off another round of laughter from Jim who knew the flirting from the nurses would go from silly to downright shameless if he ever did. Bones pulled out his wallet and paid for the shirts as Jim worked to catch his breath. After nearly giving himself away at dinner last night Jim had decided not to push quite so much, but he couldn’t help but notice the extra two black shirts that Bones had tucked under his arm. 

“C’mon, Jim. You ready to get out of this mad house yet?”

Bones clapped a hand on Jim’s shoulder and steered him toward the closest set of exit doors. Jim slung his arm over Bones’ shoulder in return.

“You have a geeky shirt, it is crazy in here, and I’ve seen all I want to see. If you’re good, I’m good.” Bones nodded. “Then let’s go see what else San Diego has to offer us.”

###

The parking garage under the convention center was just as loud as the exhibit hall and Jim and Bones both sighed in relief as they got in the car and closed the doors, effectively drowning out the noise. Bones started the car, opting to leave the top up until they got out of the garage and away from the noise and traffic, and pulled out into the mess that was the comings and goings of con attendees. If they were lucky, they could be headed up Harbor and out of the chaos in ten minutes.

"Let's go back to the hotel and rest." Bones sighed at the long line of exit traffic they turned into.

"Rest? You sound like an old man!" 

"Well, I am five and a half years older than you."

"Dude, you're on vacation. You don't nap on vacation between the ages of 7 and 50. Besides, you slept for, what, three hours? this morning."

"I didn't say nap, I said rest. And that was because I ran for longer than I probably should have."

"Rest is old man code for nap." 

"We have pay per view, we can watch a movie." 

"Lame." 

"Well I’m driving and I’m going back to the hotel to rest, you either come with and find something to do or I'll let you out here and call you when I'm done resting and figure out where you've wandered off to that you need to be retrieved from."

"Fine, I'll go. Maybe I'll go to the pool, though the beach would be better." 

"I could compromise and go to the beach. I've got a book I can read, and,” Bones snickered, “you can expend some of that energy hitting on all the women in a half-mile radius.”

Jim scoffed in disbelief, disappointed that Bones thought such a thing. “This is _our_ trip, I will not be hitting on anyone.”

Bones raised his eyebrow as he looked at Jim out of the corner of his eye.

“Seriously! I’m sure I can find a volleyball game to get in on or rent a surfboard for the afternoon.”

“No surfing.”

“Why not?”

“Do you have a wetsuit?”

“Aww man, no I didn’t pack mine. And I really don’t want to rent one.” Jim shuddered at the thought. “But I can always just go out in my trunks.”

“Potential board burn, sand rash, cutting yourself on the fins, no good place to hook your leash to, do I need to continue?” Bones ticked off the reasons on his fingers as he spoke.

“Wow, Bones, I’m impressed! I didn’t know you surfed.”

“Exactly, past tense. I haven’t been on a board in years, and before that thought finds its way from your brain to your mouth, no, this weekend isn’t as good as any other time to start back up.”

The look that crossed Jim’s face was mixed between awe and confusion.

“I will never understand how you get in my head like that. I’m not that predictable.”

Bones just laughed. “No, Jim, you’re not. But we’ve been friends for how long now, and I’m a doctor - part of what makes me good at my job is picking up on the things people aren’t saying. Makes diagnosing much easier. Look, I can’t tell you what to do, you’re an adult, just remember, I’m on vacation and I really don’t want even want to think about having to take you to the ER.”

“Yeah yeah. Okay, so beach it is, but can we go get some food first? I’m starving!”

Bones laughed as he remembered the “breakfast” Jim consumed in the car on the way to the convention center that morning - a sleeve of mini powdered donuts, an apple and a cup of coffee from the hotel’s cafe - and then realized he hadn’t done a whole lot better with a protein granola bar and bottled Frappuccino.

“Yes, we’ll get something to eat. But I’m buying since you still refuse to tell me what I owe you for my share of the trip.”

“No way.”

“Way, or we don’t get lunch and go back to the hotel, and _you_ take a _nap_.”

“That’s blackmail!”

“It’s called negotiating.” Bones smirked, knowing that Jim’s pride had never once been able to compete with his stomach.

“Fine.”

Bones just laughed as they finally made it out of the crazy traffic surrounding the convention center and headed back toward the hotel to grab lunch and change clothes.

###

“Bones, hurry up I gotta pee!” Jim started to pound on the bathroom door again just as it opened and he collided with Bones. Pushing himself off and around Bones, in the process practically shoving him the rest of the way out of the doorway, he slammed the door shut behind him.

Bones laughed as he finished tugging his t-shirt down. “I told you not to drink that third coke at lunch,” he called through the bathroom door. “And I asked you when we got back if you wanted first dibs on the bathroom.” Bones had been in the bathroom barely ten minutes and had just shut the shower off when Jim was shouting at him to hurry.

He was sitting on the end of the bed, bent over tying his shoes when he heard the bathroom door open. Knowing Jim’s propensity for wandering out in various stages of undress, he refrained from immediately looking up.

“Tennis shoes, Bones? Really?”

Jim’s bare feet crossed into his line of vision and stopped in front of him. He sat up slowly and found himself eye-to-half zipped jeans. Quickly flicking his eyes up to meet Jim’s he decided against saying anything about the Jim’s state of undress as he didn’t trust his mouth not to betray him after the way his brain already had multiple times over this morning - and it wasn’t like he really minded the view at the moment.

Jim stood shirtless, arms crossed across his chest, alternating his gaze between Bones’ face and the shoes on his feet. Bones just sighed.

“I’ll take them off when we get to the beach, but in the mean time I don’t feel like slipping and falling in a pair of flip flops when we stop at the store.”

Jim stared at Bones in disbelief before he crossed to the dresser and pulled out his black and gray board shorts before heading back into the bathroom, only pushing the door part of the way closed.

“What are we stopping at the store for? Isn’t it illegal to have booze on the beach?” Jim teased, sticking his head through the small opening.

“Well, did you think to pack any sort of beach blanket or extra towel for sitting on?”

“Note to self, the beach bag goes on every trip from here on out.”

“I’ll take that as a no. So there’s that, plus we should take water with us.”

“And munchies. You get the water, I’ll get the munchies. Mmm, pretzels and yogurt dip.”

Jim pulled the door open and walked out, still shirtless, with a silly grin on his face. Right, because he only grabbed shorts, Bones thought to himself, should have seen that one coming. He watched the muscles in Jim’s back flex as he bent over and dug through the dresser drawer looking for a shirt, looking away just before Jim turned around and pulled his newly found shirt over his head.

“Alright, I’m ready, let’s go.”

Bones scoffed at Jim’s empty hands.

“Sunscreen? Towel? Sunglasses? Are you taking anything with you at all?”

Jim winked at Bones and grinned like the Cheshire cat. “I packed it all in your backpack while you were rinsing off in the shower.”

“So I’m just supposed to be responsible for all your shit plus my own?”

Jim laughed and clapped Bones on the shoulder as he picked the bag up from the couch and slung it over his shoulder. “I was going to be the responsible one, but I’ll share that joy if you’d like. Come on, daylight’s wasting!”

Jim opened the door and continued to chuckle as Bones grumbled to himself, picked the car keys up from the table next to the couch, and followed him out of the hotel room.

###

Bones could see it was killing Jim not to just run and jump in the ocean as soon as they got there, so he took the bag from Jim and waved him off.

“Go on, Jim, I’ll get us set up here.”

“Really?” Jim was clearly torn between the inexplicable freedom the ocean offered and the duty he felt to Bones, which made Bones shake his head and grin.

“Really. The water’s calling your name.”

Jim beamed and couldn’t get his t-shirt over his head fast enough. He practically shoved it at Bones as he kicked off his flip flops and ran full speed toward the shore. Bones laughed as he watched Jim collide with a knee-high wave and saw rather than heard him yelp at the temperature of the water. He tucked Jim’s shirt in the bag, pulled out the massive beach towel they had purchased and spread it out next to the styrofoam cooler Jim had nearly dropped in his anxious excitement. He stripped his own shirt off, toed off his shoes, pulled out the bottle of sunscreen, and began working it into his skin. He watched Jim for a few minutes as he quickly made friends with the people in his immediate vicinity, before he pulled his book out of the bag and began reading.

He’d made it through five chapters when he stopped to see what Jim was up to. He looked up just in time to spot Jim further out in the water than he expected, bent over looking at who knew what under the water as a rather tall wave came up behind him. Even if Bones had tried to warn Jim, he wouldn’t have been able to hear him, nor would there have been time for Jim to do anything about it. The wave crashed into Jim from behind, bowling him over head first into the water.

Bones tossed the book aside as he jumped up watching for Jim to surface. The few seconds it took was too long for Bones’ comfort and he was already a good ten feet from the towel when Jim stood up, coughing and sputtering, and damn if that moron wasn’t laughing!

Bones finally let go of the breath he had been holding and scowled as Jim came trudging up the beach, stopping occasionally to cough as he continued to work on catching his breath. He was all smiles though by the time he reached Bones.

“Bones! What are you doing doing so far from the towel? Checking out a hottie?” Jim teased and waggled his eyebrows.

“What am I - what were you - I don’t even - you idiot! Are you okay?!” Jim laughed, coughing as he did.

“I’m fine! What are you so worried about?”

‘“What am I so worried about?!” Bones grabbed him by the arm and practically drug him back to the towel, forcing him to sit before digging a bottle of water out of the cooler and shoving it at Jim. “I saw the whole thing. I thought for sure you had been knocked unconscious and were being drug out to sea in one of the undertows!”

“Aww, Bones, it was no big deal. The wave just caught me off guard. I heard it coming and thought I had my balance set but apparently not.” He began to laugh again and Bones looked as if he might begin hyperventilating.

“Jim, that wave was a good two feet taller than you!”

Jim made a noise of disbelief and waved his hand as he shook his head trying to get some of the water out of his ears. Water also shook out of his hair, very lightly misting Bones in the face. Jim leaned over, looked Bones square in the eyes and gently brushed the water from Bones’ cheek with his thumb, hoping the physical contact would reassure him.

“I’m fine, Bones, really.”

Silence settled in as Jim pulled back from Bones, who tried to regain control of his nerves as Jim finished the water bottle and then chugged down another. Jim realized with Bones’ silence just how upset he was and he made a mental note to apologize later when Bones would be in a frame of mind to truly hear and acknowledge it. They sat like that for a few more minutes, Bones with his eyes closed and breathing deeply in and out, and Jim alternating his gaze between the ocean and the only person who had truly cared about him in years.

“I was afraid I was going to have to call your brother.”

“I’m gonna dry out for a bit, have an extra book on you?” Jim asked totally ignoring Bones’ last comment.

Bones glared incredulously at him before retrieving the book from where it had landed and tossed it to Jim. “Have at it, I’m going to just sit here and do nothing for a bit.”

“You mean you’re going to nap.”

“If you ever stop talking and start reading, yes maybe.”

Bones pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes from their perch atop his head, and laid back on his half of the towel. He laced his hands behind his head and turned just slightly to avoid the sun shining directly in his eyes, which conveniently happened to be in Jim’s direction. 

Under mirrored sunglasses, he watched Jim fidget for a few minutes, trying to figure out the best position for maximum sun exposure that was also comfortable enough to hold the book and read at the same time. He finally settled on his stomach, with the book spread open on the towel in front of him as he propped his chin in his right hand and turned pages with his left. Figuring that Jim should be still for at least the next few minutes, Bones closed his eyes and smiled, thankful that Jim was okay.

About a half hour later Bones realized he hadn’t heard any sort of movement in a while and wondered if he had managed to actually doze off and if Jim was still there. Slowly opening his eyes to give them a chance to adjust to the sudden influx of sunlight he noticed Jim staring at him, the blue of his eyes totally unmarred by his sunglasses. He watched as Jim’s eyes traveled slowly down and then back up his body, stopping at his face.

“Don’t worry Jim, it’s just the convexity of the lenses skewing your reflection, you haven’t actually gained weight in your face.”

Bones snorted as Jim jumped and looked like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“It felt like I was probably burning a little so I looked over to see if you were showing signs at all,” Jim said stumbling all over his words.

Bones stretched as he sat up and turned towards Jim. “I put sunscreen on when we got here. Did you even bother putting any on before we left?”

“Umm...no?”

Bones scowled and held out his hand for the book that Jim had now dog-eared his own spot in.

“You dumb-ass! With your coloring you’re probably already a goner, and I am not babying you the rest of the weekend when you’re hot and miserable. Now c’m’ere so I can put sunscreen on your back, and you can do the rest.”

Jim pouted a bit and looked like a scolded puppy, but he followed Bones directions and turned around. Bones pulled the bottle out of the bag sitting on the corner of the towel and poured some into his palm before handing the bottle to Jim.

“SPF 50?! Bones, if you go on vacation where there’s sun and a beach, the whole point is to come back with a tan!” Jim whined.

“Skin cancer runs in my family, sue me for being over cautious.”

Jim shivered as Bones swiped his hand across the back of Jim’s neck and shoulders before he started rubbing the cool liquid into his skin.

“And for shaking water all over me earlier you can do my back when I’ve finished yours.”

Jim sighed in acknowledgement and quickly finished slathering his arms and chest just about the time Bones finished his back. They both turned around and Jim gave Bones the same cold sunscreen treatment he’d had. Bones shivered under Jim’s hands, but he wasn’t sure how much was the sunscreen and how much was the fact that it was Jim touching him. When Jim finished Bones gave a clipped “Thanks” and immediately turned to lay on his stomach facing the ocean.

“Alright, Bones, I’m gonna go wander down the beach a bit. You good?” Jim stood and stretched, closing his eyes as he turned his face to the sun and smiled. Bones stared for a moment from behind his sunglasses noticing how relaxed and happy Jim looked before answering him.

“I’m fine. Now get, the sooner you quit yammering at me the sooner I get back to my nap.”

Jim just shook his head and laughed, then practically scampered away from the blanket and down the beach. Bones watched him until he was more a dot of bronze and black than he was an actual figure, then lowered himself off of his elbows, crossed his arms and laid his head down, again, eyes away from the sun and in the direction Jim had wandered off in. This way if Jim did come running back hollering in pain Bones would already be looking in the right direction. He smirked to himself as he lightly dozed. It would be a miracle if he didn’t end up injured in some fashion today.

###

Bones wasn’t sure how much time had passed when he heard Jim’s laugh, followed by a yell, and then more laughter. He lifted his head and looked around trying to spot the bronze body in the black shorts. He listened again, hearing Jim call “I got it!” and followed his voice up the shore a bit, further from the water than he expected to find Jim. He had gotten himself into a volleyball game after all it seemed.

Bones sat up and stretched, watching the action play out as Jim and a group of strangers got a decent volley going. He pulled a bottle of water out of the cooler and downed half of it as he watched the group laughing and having a good time. He had just reached for the sunblock when he heard Jim’s distinctive “Got it!” again and watched as he dove for the ball. He managed to get his hands under it enough for one of his teammates to send it over the net, but Jim had too much momentum going into the dive and wasn’t able to stay on his feet. He landed in the sand, not quite face first, and laughed through the whole thing.

Bones could only stare as he stood, sand completely covering his chest and stomach, brushing the sand from his arms and then ran a hand through his hair as he shook his head a little to get the matted strands out of his face. Jim nodded to the other team’s server and play began again. Bones kept a partial eye on the game, continually shifting the rest of his attention from random people watching, to the ocean, and back to the game.

He wasn’t sure what the score was or which side was winning as he couldn’t hear the numbers being called as clearly as he heard Jim’s voice, but he did hear someone call a rather frantic “Time out!” as he was watching a flock of seagulls glide through the air. He looked over to see if he could tell why the call had been made and noticed they had all bunched around someone who was sitting in the sand. His doctor tendencies kicked in, and though he didn’t have his bag or even a minor first aid kit on him, he knew he could at least assess the situation and be able to tell one of the lifeguards what the injury consisted of. He stood quickly and jogged over to where the impromptu court had been set up, realizing the closer he got that he didn’t see Jim in the group standing around.

“Dammit, Jim!” he muttered to himself as he sped up and called his name when he got close enough to be heard.

“Bones!” Jim called cheerily from the inside of the circle that had now parted for him to wave at his friend. “Don’t panic. I’m fine, just a little,” he winced in pain. “Just a little cut.”

Bones dropped to his knees beside Jim and tried to pull Jim’s left arm away from his body where he had been clutching it, but Jim wouldn’t give in.

“What did you do this time?”

“Everyone, this is my friend, Bones. He’s a doctor, and I’m in good hands now.” Jim looked over Bones’ shoulder to someone sitting on the sideline. “Hey, Scotty, looks like you’re in for me now.”

Jim stood, pulling Bones with him, and walked carefully out of the makeshift court, fist bumping Scotty as they passed each other.

“Thanks for letting me play, guys! It’s been fun!”

Everyone called out goodbyes and well wishes to Jim as he and Bones slowly made their way back to their towel.

“Are you going to let me look at that now? And what did you do anyway?”

“Yeah, sorry. I’m fine, it’s not bad, but one of the guys, Hikaru I think, said that a few of the girls were squeamish so I figured I’d just keep it covered till we got away from them.”

“Let me determine how bad it is, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” Jim winced as he let go and held his arm out straight for Bones to see. “I went for a dig and cut myself on a shell buried in the sand. I’m just glad I didn’t find it with one of my feet.”

Bones carefully inspected the cut, then let go of Jim’s arm and reached for the last bottle of water and his towel.

“It’s still bleeding a little bit, and I need to rinse the sand out of it so I can get a better look. The water’s cold and it’s going to sting a little.”

Jim grimaced as the water hit the open wound and thought back to all the other times Bones had patched up him over the years. He was always fascinated by how they could be best friends, goofing off and having a good time, but the instant Jim, or anyone else, got hurt, the doctor side of Bones came rushing to the forefront and he became very clinical and methodical. Jim didn’t really remember a lot of the pain that went with his various injuries because Bones was extremely good at talking through what he was doing and keeping the focus on his actions rather than the injury itself.

Tuning back into the present Jim turned his head from where he’d been staring down the beach and realized Bones was slicing a strip off of his own towel with a knife.

“What are you doing?”

“Avoiding the paperwork I know the lifeguards would make us fill out if I took you to one of the towers and asked for a bandage.”

“Yeah, but why are you tearing up your towel? Why didn’t you use mine? And where’d you get the knife?” Jim looked slightly suspicious on the last question.

“Knife’s been in my pocket the whole time, even when I don’t bring my bag with me I always carry it. Never know when it’s going to come in handy. As for my towel versus yours, I haven’t used mine yet so it’s still clean and free of salt water. Your whole towel is still damp from earlier and trust me, you don’t want salt in a wound this deep.”

“Oh.” Jim gave Bones a half grin as if to say thanks but it was interrupted by a hiss of discomfort as Bones tied the strip of towel tightly around Jim’s bicep. “Does it have to be so tight?”

The look Bones gave Jim in reply clearly said “Are you kidding me?” and he gave one last tug on the ends to make sure it would come undone. Jim winced and rubbed at his arm as Bones started to pack up.

“Dude, what are you doing?” Jim tried to reach for Bones’ book that he had started earlier but Bones quickly moved it out of reach.

“Packing up so we can go back to the hotel where I can properly clean and bandage that.”

“Aww you’re serious aren’t you?”

“As a heart attack. Now come on, off the towel so I can fold it.”

Jim grimaced as the makeshift bandage cut into his arm painfully when he pushed himself up. After he stepped off the towel he bent down to pick up the end and help Bones but was promptly chastised.

“I got it. I don’t want you using that arm more than you have to until I’m absolutely sure you don’t need stitches.”

“Nooo, no stitches.”

“I know you hate needles, but if it hasn’t quit bleeding by the time we get back to the hotel, I’ll have to do it.”

Jim immediately stood up straight and clamped the hand from his good arm down over the cut and applied as much pressure as he could stand. He knew that much of basic first aid - apply pressure to stop the bleeding - and hoped it worked this time.

It took Bones a little longer to pack everything up and get situated to where he could carry it all to the car without Jim’s help and then remembered as they got to the car that the keys were in his pocket.

“Jim, can you get the keys out of my pocket and pop the trunk?”

Jim hesitated just briefly, his mind a whirl of willing his cut to stop bleeding, being impressed at the way Bones had managed to carry everything on his own, and now being told to invade his personal space. He slowly pried his hand off his arm and started to reach for the velcro fastened pocket on the bottom of the left leg of Bones’ shorts.

“Not that pocket, they’re in the regular right pocket.”

Jim crossed behind Bones and unzipped the pocket before awkwardly reaching in and fumbling around for the keys. Finally coming up victorious he pushed the button for the trunk on the key fob, then the button to unlock the doors and got in on the passenger side. He reached across the console, put the keys in the ignition and started the car as Bones finished putting their stuff in the trunk and slid into the driver’s seat. He handed Jim a can of coke and reached into his left pocket before closing the door.

“Here,” he tossed Jim a small bottle of Tylenol. “Only take one. If you’re going to spike a fever due to infection I want to know sooner rather than later.”

Well that was new, Jim thought. Bones never gave him anything for pain without Jim asking for it. He shrugged it off and did as Bones said as Bones pointed the car back toward the hotel.

###

“Shit, Bones! That hurts!”

“Sorry,” Bones mumbled as he swabbed at the cut with peroxide.

Jim’s eyes widened and he started just a bit at the word - Bones never made apologies in the midst of fixing someone up, and when he was patching up Jim there was usually quite a bit of swearing involved.

Bones looked up at Jim’s sudden movement, intending to chastise him for it, but caught the surprise in the bright blue eyes that appeared slightly watery. Shit, his mouth was talking without consent from his brain again. Fortunately his brain was already working on it and had pulled an appropriate memory out for him to reference.

“I cut my arm like this on a barbed wire fence once as a kid, cutting across neighbors’ properties because I was already past curfew. I remember how bad it hurt.”

He didn’t smile, but his eyes were sympathetic and that was enough to prompt a small smile out of Jim.

“Let’s walk to the coffee house and get dinner.”

“Kinda in the middle of something here, Jim.” For added emphasis Bones swiped the peroxide soaked pad across the cut again.

“I know - fuck! Do you really have to do that?”

Bones flicked a stony glare up at Jim and then dropped the offending object in the trash can beside the toilet before picking up a piece of gauze to hold over the cut as it started to clot back up.

“I meant after you finish. I’m hungry and really jonesing for another one of those cinnamon things, and April’s supposed to be back tonight.”

Bones laughed as he checked the gauze and inspected the cut one last time. “Any deeper and you would have needed stitches, but it looks like you’ll be fine as long as you don’t strain your arm too much. I don’t know what you have on the agenda for tomorrow, but no heavy lifting and no strenuous use of that arm.”

Jim raised an eyebrow and leered at Bones. “Are you volunteering to take care of anything that might...come up?”

Bones pulled the tape around the bandage a little tighter as he rolled his eyes and scowled at Jim, smirking when he winced. “No.” He scrambled to change the subject before his body could follow the train of thought his mind had just boarded and betray him to Jim. “We can go to the coffee shop, but we’re driving, and we’re not staying as late as we did the other night. You need to sleep so your body can start working on healing itself.”

“Can’t you just give me an antibiotic or something?”

“You’re allergic to the standard stuff I keep in my bag, and I didn’t pack any of the others because I really hoped we wouldn’t need them.”

Jim sighed. “Fine.” He looked down at his arm as Bones finished putting away the stuff from his first aid kit, then hopped off the bathroom counter. “So can we go?”

Bones chuckled as he followed Jim out of the bathroom. For as long as he’d known Jim, his stomach had always been “in control” and he could only assume the kid had either an amazing work out program, or an incredible metabolism, and probably both. Jim Kirk never did anything halfway.

“Yeah, Jim, we can go.”

###

April had been working, just as Jim remembered, and before the evening was over Jim had consumed two of her cinnamon concoctions, tried another, and had talked Bones into trying one as well. They promised to return the next evening and April promised to have a recipe ready for Jim to take to their coffee house back home.

April and two of the other staff had taken turns stopping by the table where Jim and Bones had settled in, and they were entertained by Bones recounting stories of his favorite “stupid human injuries” he’d handled at the hospital. It didn’t take long before those dissolved into “klutzy Jim” injuries, and even the couple who was there Wednesday night had pulled their chairs closer to listen.

It was in one of the quieter moments as the laughter had died down that someone’s watch beeped and Bones remembered he had wanted to try to make Jim go to bed early.

“Shoot, what time is it?”

Everyone reached for their phones, and the guy of the couple (a regular, whom the girls that worked there all just called “Hon”) flicked his wrist and read the time off his watch before anyone else could even figure out what pocket their phone was in.

“Nine-thirty.”

“Thanks. And nice watch.” Bones and the guy exchanged nods before Bones continued. “Sorry to break up the fun, but I’m making Jim here go back to the hotel and go to bed early tonight.”

Jim started to complain, but was quickly silenced when everyone began to wish him well, having been told the story of his newest injury earlier in the evening. The girls that worked at the coffee house all patted him on the arm or squeezed his shoulder as they got up to leave, and Jim wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw both “Hon” and the girl he was with checking him out as he and Bones stood to leave as well. He grinned and winked at them both, chuckling inside when the girl blushed even more at whatever it was the guy whispered in her ear. They were attractive enough, but had nothing on Bones as far as he was concerned.

Bones. Bones was the only reason he wasn’t fighting to stay longer. He had enjoyed being around other people tonight, but now that he had acknowledged how he felt about Bones, he wanted to spend as much time as he could with Bones before they had to go back to their jobs and real life and only seeing Bones a couple of times a week. Maybe he could talk Bones into staying up for a while and watching a movie together.

But even in the short drive back to the hotel the events of the day had finally caught up with Jim and he realized how exhausted he was. Between the sun, the water, getting hurt, and all of the laughter of the evening, he was actually ready to sleep.

It was written all over his face in a language that Bones had become a pro at reading. He grabbed Jim’s elbow as he started to head for the couch and steered him toward the bedroom instead.

“Don’t make me use my doctor voice. You’re sleeping in the bed tonight.”

“Bones - ”

“Hush. You’re exhausted, and you’re injured. Plus, I’m still worried about the possibility of infection. The area around the cut is a little redder than I’d like. It’s a king size bed, so you’re going to sleep on one side and I’m sleeping on the other that way if you spike a fever in the middle of the night I’ll know sooner rather than later.”

Bones wasn’t crazy about the idea, having figured out he was in love with the idiot, but he’d been working it out in the back of his mind all evening, and it helped that Jim was actually displaying his exhaustion. He was able to turn off best friend mode and turn on doctor mode, and that would make it bearable. Well, at least while he was awake. He probably wouldn’t sleep much, or well, worried about Jim, but also worried about what his unconscious self might do while asleep.

Of course it didn’t help that Jim was pretty much stripping in front of him right now. Jim’s back was turned, so he let himself look, taking in the shoulders that weren’t quite as broad as his own, the definition in his arms, less obvious on the injured one since it was bandaged and he was favoring it, and the pink tinge of his back that - wait a second.

“Jim, did you bother reapplying sunscreen after I made you?”

Jim turned, his bare chest now facing Bones and he shrugged. “Don’t think so?”

Bones crossed the room in two strides, one hand latching onto Jim’s shoulder and the other reaching for his forehead.

“Jesus, Jim, don’t you feel warm at all?”

“No. Should I?”

“And my hands don’t feel cold?” Jim shook his head. “You’re pink enough I’d think you’d at least be feeling something similar to a few rounds of good whiskey. When was the last time you had a sunburn?”

“I don’t know, ‘s’been a while though. I don’t usually notice till I put a shirt on the next day.”

“Well, do me a favor and put a shirt on now, a loose one. I’m sure if you get hot in the middle of the night you’ll pull it off, but that’ll help me keep tabs on how warm you are.”

Jim rolled his eyes at how deep in the doctor mentality Bones was, but pulled a shirt out of the drawer and winced slightly as he struggled to get his left arm through the sleeve. Bones reached over to help without thinking, and Jim tensed. It was bad enough that he’d managed to hurt himself after trying so hard not to. He really had wanted this to be the perfect trip for Bones, and he felt bad that he’d screwed it up, that he’d screwed up. Again.

“Jim.” Bones waited for Jim to look at him. “Jim, it’s okay. This wasn’t your fault, and it’s not as bad as it could have been. We’re not in the hospital are we?” He grinned, trying to add a little bit of levity to the situation, knowing instinctively that Jim was chastising himself in his head for the injury. “Really. It’s okay.”

Jim relaxed slightly and let Bones help him pull the shirt over his head, yawning as he tugged it down. He handed Jim the pants he had left laying on the bed and Jim headed for the bathroom. Bones changed and then retrieved the pillows and extra blanket from the couch while he waited on his turn in the bathroom. When Jim finally emerged he headed straight for the bottled water in the fridge.

When Bones came out of the bathroom he found Jim leaning against the counter, three empty bottles beside him, and nearly asleep.

“C’mon, Jim. Time for bed.”

Jim shuffled into the bedroom and crawled into bed before Bones could say anything else. Bones chuckled to himself as he padded back out to the main room to turn off the lights. As he flicked the switch he heard Jim mumbling at him only half-awake.

“What was that, Jim?” he asked as he slid in between the sheets on the other side of the bed.

Jim turned his head just enough to be heard. “Said if I have to sleep in the damn bed so do you.”

Bones laughed and switched off the light beside the bed. “Remember to wake me if you get hot or don’t feel good.” There was some sort of noise from the other side of the bed that sounded like acknowledgement. “Good night, Jim.”

“G’night, Bones.”

Jim’s breathing shifted almost immediately, softening and deepening, and Bones knew he was already asleep. He ignored the pleading in his mind to turn his head and watch Jim sleep, instead rolling over and staring at the view of the bay. It was going to be a long night.

###

Bones was the first one awake. It wasn’t the first bit of sunlight creeping in through the curtains that he’d drawn a few hours before when Jim had kicked him awake in his sleep, nor was it the soft squawks of the seagulls as they swooped and dove for their breakfast. It was a sense of warmth, not overly hot like Jim had suddenly spiked a fever, but a comfortable heat trapped in his arms and tangled with his legs, like his favorite quilt his grandmother had made for him when he went off to college. He didn’t want to open his eyes, but suddenly the quilt was moving, so he slowly blinked them open.

The “quilt” was Jim, and they were curled around each other. One of Jim’s hands rested lightly on his hip, one of his was splayed across Jim’s back and the other was over Jim’s other hand that clutched lightly at his Ole Miss shirt. Bones absolutely did not want to move, but he knew that if he stayed any longer, the _problem_ he only half had would become a much larger issue that he wouldn’t be able to just think away while reciting the procedure for a colonoscopy. Yeah, that’s working, and he carefully untangled himself from Jim, praying to every deity he could think of for Jim to stay asleep because he didn’t even want to consider how awkward that conversation would be.

Jim snuffled lightly as Bones slid to the edge of the bed and slowly got up. Then Jim rolled over, pulled a pillow closer and latched onto it. Bones’ heart sunk at the sight - the brief hope that maybe Jim’s subconscious had been aware of Bones and chose to latch onto _him_ was snuffed out with the memory of the day before when he had checked on Jim before he went running - Jim had been latched onto the pillow then too.

He grabbed the blanket that wasn’t half wrapped around Jim’s ankles and went out to the patio. He left the door open just enough to hear Jim when he finally woke up and settled into the chaise to watch the rest of the sunrise - and try to shove all of these thoughts back under lock and key.

###

“Bones. Hey, Bones.”

Bones nearly fell off the chaise as quickly as he sat up, and Jim just barely pulled back in time to keep their heads from colliding.

“What is it, Jim? Are you warm? Nauseous? Does your arm hurt?” His questions tumbled out of his mouth even as he blinked and rubbed his eyes, not completely awake.

Jim laughed softly. “I’m fine. I feel pretty good actually, considering how I felt last night. It’s just time to get up. How long have you been out here anyway?”

Bones swung his legs over to one side and pushed himself up and off of the chaise. “Sunrise. I couldn’t go back to sleep and figured I’d enjoy the weather and the view. Must have dozed back off.” He didn’t look at Jim, unsure if he was awake enough to conceal the part of the answer that was a lie. “You sure you’re okay?”

Jim picked up the blanket and headed back inside. “I’m fine, Bones. That’s the longest and soundest night of sleep I’ve had in a long time. I didn’t wake you up at any point did I?” Bones shook his head, deciding not to tell Jim how many times he had woken up to check on him, or about being kicked in the shins. Jim grinned. “Plus, I still have my shirt on, so no fever.”

“Alright, well don’t get too cocky, kid. You should still take it easy today. Speaking of, do you have a plan for the day?”

Jim beamed. “Balboa Park. That whole area around the zoo where we were on Wednesday? There’s a few museums if you want to do something like that, a couple of different gardens, and someone told me about this outdoor pipe organ that’s supposed to be pretty amazing. No time frames, no schedules, just the gorgeous weather, people to watch, and the two of us doing whatever we want.”

“You forgot one thing, Jim.”

Jim turned from where he had been gathering his clothes for the day, confusion evident on his face.

“Coffee.”

Jim burst into laughter and clapped Bones on the shoulder. “We’ll stop on the way.”

###

They hadn’t been at the park for more than twenty minutes before Bones had decided he had never been anywhere more peaceful, even with the steady flow of people around them. There was something about it that made him feel as if he had traveled to another world as they headed away from the parking lot and crossed a massive lawn that he’d swear was as green and lush as any he’d seen in movies. As they made their way to the pipe organ pavilion to find out when there was a performance, he sincerely regretted not bringing his camera.

Since the performance wasn’t until 4:00 they decided to wander through a few of the museums before lunch. Jim practically drooled his way through the automotive museum full of classic and famous cars, and Bones had nearly gone idyllic trying to take in as much of the natural history museum as he could. When they discovered the science museum, both men forgot their ages and traipsed through it like a couple of wide-eyed kids learning about science for the first time.

Both men were enjoying themselves, but neither of them could ignore the gnawing ache inside that seemed to surface every time one caught the other unaware with a look of peaceful contentment. Bones thought it was just that Jim was enjoying the time outside (he always opted to sit outside and eat if given a choice), and Jim assumed Bones was enjoying the time away from the demands of the hospital. Despite the serenity of the environment they found themselves in, an unconscious tension was building in each of them as they tried harder and harder to ignore and push away the feelings they had for each other.

On their way to the botanical building they both caught sight of the museum of photographic arts and grinned when they both looked at each other to ask if the other was interested. It was an out of focus picture of a couple in an embrace that reminded Bones of that morning, and images of what could have happened flooded his mind as he stood there staring at the photo. Thankfully, he was jolted out of it before his body could catch up with his mind as Jim shifted his weight and bumped his shoulder against Bones’.

Conversation between the two had stopped somewhere between the cluster of museums and the botanical building, and the near silence inside the botanical building only served to drive each man further into his thoughts. They had started to wander through the plants together, but at one point they both looked up at each other and without a word communicated that they were going to split up for a while. Excepting the morning Jim had gone to get breakfast, Bones’ run the morning before, and the short spans of time at the beach, they hadn’t really spent any other time apart.

Where their thought processes should have been vastly different for their differing personalities and who each man was, the ideas they mulled over were nearly identical. Both chastised themselves for allowing the “crazy thoughts” to “go so far” and admonished themselves for letting such thoughts alter their demeanor and make them pensive while with the other. Where they differed, Jim was mad at himself again for getting injured, and wondered if his “pay for everything” approach had injured their friendship in some way. Meanwhile Bones was berating himself for being so repeatedly harsh about telling Jim to be careful and was concerned that he had offended Jim somehow by paying for dinner the other night.

Forty-five minutes later something in each of them bought them back to the entrance, neither feeling any better about their feelings or concerns.

“Hungry, Bones?”

“I’m game for whatever, Jim.”

For the first time in their friendship the silence wasn’t just awkward, it was frightening.

###

Lunch had been a pretty quiet affair, succinct responses to their waitress, and conversation was even more stilted and polite than the very first time they had met for drinks. Jim was pretty sure something was wrong with Bones, and vice versa, but neither wanted to bring it up with so many other people around. It was solidified for Jim when Bones scowled as Jim reached for the check from the waitress before she even had a chance to set it down.

Jim left a fifty in the folder the bill came in and quickly stood from the table. Bones shot him a slightly angry questioning look and Jim just raised an eyebrow and nodded toward the exit as he stepped away from the table. Bones drained the last of his iced tea as he stood, then quickly moved to catch up with Jim. Neither said a word till they were off the main thoroughfare through the park and on one of the lesser used trails. When Jim felt like they were alone enough he stopped abruptly and turned to face Bones. They stood in silence for a few moments, a rather defiant glare in Bones’ eyes causing a slightly wounded look in Jim’s.

“Did I say or do something wrong?”

The look Bones threw back at Jim clearly said “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

“Don’t give me that look. You’ve been quiet since the photography museum.”

“I’m fine. Just tired I guess, the trip’s catching up with me.”

“Bullshit. When you’re tired you blink more, like you’re trying to keep yourself awake, and your eyes have a completely different look to them.”

“Well,” he deflected the question back, not wanting to get anywhere near the real issue since it was his and his alone to deal with. “I could ask you the same question since you’re so good at projecting your issues onto other people.”

Bones winced inside at the hurt look in Jim’s eyes. He really shouldn’t have said that. He knew it was something Jim was aware of and working on, and it wasn’t fair ammunition.

“Hi, my name is kettle, you must be pot. Shit, Bones, you’re supposed to be my best friend. What the hell?”

“Even best friends don’t tell each other everything, Jim.” Bones looked away and refused to meet Jim’s gaze.

“So you’re going to admit that something is wrong, but not tell me what it is so I can - ”

“Oh here we go again, genius Jim to the rescue, he can fix anything. God forbid there was something that couldn’t be ‘fixed’. Besides, are you going to admit that something’s wrong with you? You’re so good at pointing that goddamn finger at me you seem to forget that you’ve got four pointed right back at you. What the hell is _your_ problem, Jim?”

“Fuck it, you always do this. You always turn things back around to me.”

“Oh I always do, huh? Christ, tell me how you really feel.”

“Can’t do that, Bones.”

Silence. Bones had been ready to lash back, but was stopped by Jim’s sudden declaration. Jim’s eyes widened in realization at what he’d just said and quickly flicked his gaze away from Bones’ now searching ones. He kept his own moving, afraid if they stilled Bones would be able to get a read on him. Bones took a step toward Jim who jerked back a few steps in counter.

“Jim - ”

“Let it go, Bones.”

“Jim, what - ”

“I gotta get out of here. I’ll get a cab later.”

Jim spun on his heels and walked briskly in the direction they had come from.

“Jim, wait,” Bones called, raising his voice just a little, but Jim never looked back. He just kept walking as Bones watched him disappear into the crowd.

###

Bones wasn’t sure how long he had been standing there when the sounds of the pipe organ jolted him from his thoughts with a somber realization. Jim had wanted to go to the performance this afternoon, but he doubted that Jim was there now. Something had upset Jim worse than he’d seen in a while, and Jim didn’t do public when he was upset. In fact, if he could get away with it, Jim retreated into as much solitude as he could.

He stood there for a moment longer, trying to decide if he should call or text Jim to see if he was still at the park or had already made his way back to the hotel, but he also figured Jim probably wouldn’t answer him right now either. He pulled the map of the park out of his back pocket and scanned the list of offerings, trying to figure out where Jim might go in his current state.

Of course. Bones gave a derisive laugh at the irony of it.

###

Jim finally slowed down when he practically tripped over the bench in front of the reflection pond filled with koi. Looking around he noticed it was relatively isolated for the time being, and the strains of the pipe organ were just barely audible - as good a place as any to sit down and try to regroup.

He wasn’t sure what on earth had possessed him to answer Bones the way he had. He knew he could never tell Bones how he felt, and now he just had to shove it all under lock and key again before he went back to the hotel to face Bones. It was going to take quite a bit of energy to keep up the “everything’s fine, I was just tired” facade, but he only had to do it for barely twenty-four more hours until they got back home. He’d have at least a week to “get over” these feelings before he’d have to see Bones again, since he knew he’d spend extra time at the hospital playing catch-up.

Taking a deep breath Jim closed his eyes, rolled his neck and shoulders, and sat up a little straighter as he focused on rebuilding his happy-go-lucky mask.

###

He was mildly aware of people coming and going around him, but there was a presence that had been hanging further back for a few minutes now. Without opening his eyes he stretched, letting the movement bring him back to reality and suddenly he knew who it was. He slouched forward a bit, not quite ready to see Bones yet, but, que sera sera.

Bones crossed the distance between where he had been standing and Jim was sitting in a few long strides, careful not to crowd Jim’s personal space at all.

“I just wanted to...” Bones trailed off, his voice wavered, and suddenly the words he had prepared on the way were gone.

He watched as Jim fidgeted for a moment before sighing and giving a nearly imperceptible tilt of his head indicating it was okay for Bones to join him on the bench. He sat down, careful not to touch Jim as he did, and fixed his eyes straight ahead on the koi pond, picking one of the larger fish and tracking its movements through the water.

Both men sat rigidly still and silent for a few minutes, neither knowing what to say. It was more awkward than Jim had encountered in a long time, and he couldn’t take it for long.

“Bones - ”

“No, Jim.” Bones took a deep breath and turned to look at Jim’s profile - suddenly his words were back. “I’m sorry, Jim. I shouldn’t have pushed, I was an ass. I’m sorry.”

Silence took over again as Bones turned back to find the fish he had been watching. Jim was stunned. He was always the one apologizing, even when it wasn’t his fault, so he had no idea what to do on the receiving end of one. Well, sure, he knew the standard response was to accept it and start the process of moving on, but he couldn’t quite make his mouth form the words before Bones was talking again.

“I was just worried about you,” he murmured, still following the fish with his eyes.

Jim turned suddenly at the words, confusion slowly spreading across his face as he stared at the profile of the gorgeous man beside him. Shit, that adjective was why he was in this mess in the first place. He was supposed to be getting over the fact that his best friend was one of the most attractive people he’d ever seen. He ran his hand through his hair.

“Why on earth would you worry about me?”

Bones nearly lost his balance as he turned to face Jim with disbelief in his eyes.

“Why? Because I care about you, you idiot! Because you’re my best friend and I hate seeing you upset. It kills me when I see you dealing with something and won’t let me in. I get it, but it doesn’t mean I like it. I want you to be able to trust me like I trust you because I lo-”

He stopped, catching himself before he said it. That word hadn’t been part of what he had prepared. Fear flashed in his eyes as he realized how close he’d come to scaring Jim out of his life forever.

Jim had only half-heard the end where Bones cut off because a quick burst of anger had risen in him at the mention of trust.

“Me trust you like you trust me? Like you trust me enough not to tell me what’s wrong with you?” Jim stopped, counted to five in his head, and then realized there had been something else Bones had stopped himself from saying. “Wait, what were you going to say, Bones?”

Bones didn’t turn away, but he did break eye contact to look over Jim’s shoulder and remained silent. Jim, suddenly thankful for his nearly eidetic memory, replayed what Bones had said in his head a few times. No, he couldn’t have been about to say what it sounded like, there was no way. But then the entire trip came flooding back into his head, along with other moments from the past six months, and his face softened. Was that it?

He reached out and gently touched Bones’ arm, and when he jerked back Jim gripped his forearm, refusing to let go. Bones looked down to the hand on his arm, and then back up to Jim, slightly startled by how close Jim had gotten.

“Bones.” It was more breath than whisper.

“Jim, I - ”

And Jim knew. Well, he was pretty sure he knew, so the press of his lips to Bones’ was tentatively chaste at first, but the instant the lips under his moved he surrendered wholly to the idea and poured everything he’d been trying to hide away into the kiss. He relaxed his grip on Bones’ arm and slid his hand up to his shoulder, moaning softly when he felt fingers brush against his ear as they carded through his hair.

The sound triggered dual responses in Bones - half of him wanted to keep going, to prolong the pleasure and relief that he was feeling at the realization that Jim had at least some of the same feelings that he did, but the other half was now _very_ aware that they were in a public place and really should stop before they turned into one of those couples from the zoo a few days ago. Sighing internally, he pulled back from the kiss and leaned his forehead against Jim’s, unable to keep from groaning as Jim whimpered at the loss of contact.

“Jim - ”

Jim opened his eyes and fear filled them as he realized what had happened and tried to pull back. 

“Shit, Bones, I shouldn’t have - ”

Bones slid the hand that was still tangled in Jim’s hair to the back of his neck and held him there.

“Not here, Jim.”

Bones stared into Jim’s eyes, willing him to understand, and when he nodded Bones pulled back and stood up. He took a deep breath as Jim sat up and mirrored his actions. Reaching into his pocket, Bones pulled out the car keys and handed them to Jim, letting the touch linger until a smile finally spread across Jim’s face.

“I think we could both use a cup of coffee, what do you say, Bones?”

Bones smiled back.

“Coffee sounds good, Jim. Coffee sounds real good.”

###

Two cups of coffee sat forgotten and cooling on the table between them where they sat tucked away in a corner of the back patio. While the silence hadn’t been completely uncomfortable after the awkward kiss in the park earlier, neither of them knew what to say to begin, nor had they been able to look each other in the eyes. Jim had been frantically trying to come up with a way to excuse the entire thing since it happened, and now sat shredding a sugar packet into tiny pieces, while Bones continually twirled the spoon in his cup and stared at the texture of the pavement beneath the wrought iron table as he tried to make sense of what exactly had happened. They seemed to be taking turns trying to say something, each looking up as they opened their mouth to speak, hesitating, then softly sighing before dropping their eyes back to their previous activity.

“Bones, I...”

Bones flicked his eyes up from the pavement to find Jim staring at him intently. He wasn’t sure whether or not to respond, what to respond with if he should, or if he trusted his voice not to shake and give away the nerves he was feeling. He settled for not breaking Jim’s gaze and nodding to encourage Jim to continue.

“Bones, I don’t even know what to say. I can’t say I’m sorry because I’m not. I’ve been wondering for a while now what kissing you would be like, but I kept pushing the thought aside. ‘Bones is my best friend, I don’t want to screw that up. And I like girls don’t I? Then why do I keep thinking about him the way I do?’ You’re my best friend, Bones, and I don’t want to lose that, so if we need to just pretend this whole thing never happen-”

“Jim, you idiot, stop talking. I’m not sorry either.”

“You’re not?”

“Nope, and I don’t want to pretend it never happened, I just don’t know what to do with all of this.”

“Me either. I mean, I wanted this whole trip to be perfect, to sort of be a thank you for everything you’ve done for me for the last three years, and to show you that I can be responsible, that not only am I capable of taking care of myself, but that I’m capable of taking care...” Jim slid his gaze slowly away from Bones as he trailed off.

There was a slight pause before Bones let go of the spoon and gently slid his hand over Jim’s, which were now shredding a napkin. Jim stilled for a split second at the touch, eyes still staring at the vines climbing the side of the building, and Bones squeezed his hand softly.

“Jim.” He waited until Jim finally ceased the movement with his hands and rather embarrassedly looked back to Bones. “That you could take care of someone else?” Jim swallowed hard as he nodded. “That you could take care of me?” Jim tried to look away again, but Bones reached up with his other hand and gently but firmly grabbed Jim’s chin and wouldn’t let him look away. “Jim, I have never thought you couldn’t take care of yourself. I just figured, from everything you’d ever told me of your life growing up, that you deserved to have someone take care of _you_ for once.”

Bones let go of Jim’s chin and suddenly self-conscious pulled both of his hands away from Jim and crossed his arms on the table. Jim wasn’t sure what to say; he hadn’t ever felt like Bones had been condescending in the way he treated Jim, but he hadn’t realized the depth of the friendship they shared until now. He knew he cared about Bones and vice-versa, but he wasn’t truly aware of the depth of that caring until Bones put it in those terms.

Jim was staring at Bones now, almost as if studying him, and this time it was Bones who looked away, feeling uncomfortable under the weight of Jim’s gaze. It was like Jim was taking him apart, piece by piece, and he was afraid if he let Jim look too deep it would scare him off, and then where would they be?

Jim finally spoke up after a minute or so of silence.

“How long?”

“How long what, Jim?” Bones tried to remain detached as he focused on the tree behind Jim’s shoulder.

“How long have you felt this way?”

Bones looked back at Jim with a raised eyebrow, afraid to voice and acknowledge the idea that Jim was inching nearer and nearer to.

“How long, Bones?”

“We’ve been friends for almost three years, but you didn’t really tell me about your family ‘til last year.”

“That’s not what I meant, Bones, and you know it. How long have you-”

“Five months, Jim. I’ve been fighting with myself for the last five months, because, like you said ‘I like girls don’t I?’ Only, apparently not since I met you.”

Jim’s eyes widened and he wondered if Bones could trace it back to the same moment he could, when five months ago they had gotten completely plastered together on Valentine’s Day and woken up curled together on Jim’s couch the next morning. It was extremely awkward, and they were both so hung-over that they vowed never to speak of it again before Bones left for work (“Thank god for banana bags”) and Jim took a very confused cold shower.

“That morning we swore we’d never bring up again?” Bones blushed slightly and chuckled as he nodded. “Well shit, apparently we should have! There could have been a lot more making out a whole lot sooner if we had!” He grinned and waggled his eyebrows at Bones who laughed louder and shook his head.

“Only you would look at it that way, Jim.”

“Bullshit! That kiss earlier was good and you know it. I’m going to have to sleep in the bathroom and lock the door to keep you from molesting me in my sleep tonight.” Jim winked as Bones tried to subdue his laughter into an indignant eyebrow raise.

“Me molest you? I might have been hung over that morning, but I clearly remember you were the one clinging to me.”

“Only ‘cause you’re a couch hog.”

Bones was unable to keep a straight face any longer and he burst out laughing. Jim began to laugh as well, the awkwardness finally beginning to dissipate. Bones wiped his eyes when their laughter finally trailed off into the occasional chuckle and silly grins. Jim reached for his coffee and took a sip, nearly spitting it out instantly.

“Well, now that our coffees have gone cold...”

“Jim-”

“Bones-”

They both laughed stiltedly and Bones deferred to Jim with a wave of his hand.

“So what do we do about this?”

Bones shrugged. “I don’t know, Jim, things seem to be working pretty well the way they are. I mean, we’ve sort of been dating without calling it that the last six months anyway.”

Jim nodded and then a grin spread across his face. “But now I get to kiss you whenever I want to, right?” He started to scoot his chair around the table closer to Bones, but stopped when Bones pushed his chair back from the table.

“Now hang on there.” Bones stood up, paused for a moment, then took a step towards a now slightly confused Jim. “What if _I_ want to be the one to kiss _you_?”

Before Jim could process what he said, Bones had bent down and grabbed Jim’s shirt in one hand, palmed the back of his head with the other, and had roughly pressed his lips to Jim’s. Shock quickly turned to pleasure for Jim, his eyes fluttered shut, and he instinctively relaxed into the kiss, one hand moving to card through the short hair at the nape of Bones’ neck, the other finding Bones’ hip to pull him closer. Unfortunately, Jim relaxing meant his entire body started to sink back into his chair, throwing off Bones’ balance and breaking the kiss, their faces sliding against each other’s and the few days of scruff scratching uncomfortably.

“Ouch,” Jim rubbed his face as Bones regained his balance and did the same.

“Suddenly the no shaving thing doesn’t seem like such a good idea, does it?”

“While we both look incredibly hot with stubble,” Bones snorted and rolled his eyes as Jim continued. “Whatever, we so do, but it’s going to make making out not nearly as enjoyable as it could be. I’m sure we can get a razor from the hotel.”

“Razors plural. Sharing razors is highly unsan-”

“Unsanitary, blah blah blah. Bones, your tongue was just practically down my throat, it doesn’t get much more unsanitary than that,” Jim teased as they tossed their cups in the garbage and headed for the car. Bones blushed slightly as he pulled the keys out of his pocket, realizing Jim was right. That distraction was all Jim needed to snatch the keys from Bones, who started to protest. “Nope. I’m way too anxious to get back to the hotel for your old granny driving. Besides, I can’t promise not to be distracting while you’re driving.”

He clicked the unlock button on the key fob and slid in the driver’s seat. Bones mumbled something to himself as he got in on the opposite side. “What was that, Bones?”

Bones leaned across the console and gear shaft and kissed Jim again, softly this time, to avoid the unfortunate beard burn of moments before.

“I said, I can’t believe we’re being cock-blocked by our choice not to shave.”

Jim’s jaw dropped and he hurriedly started the car and headed back towards the hotel while Bones pulled out his cell phone.

“Hi, Kevin, Leonard McCoy. Would it be possible to get a couple of razors from the hotel store delivered and charged to our room?... Complimentary? I’m sure that’d be fine, neither of us are picky...That’s fine, we’re almost back actually. Thank you!”

Jim laughed and grinned as he pulled into the valet lane of the parking lot - at least one of them still had some brain cells left.

###

Had they not been beyond anxious to continue the kissing from earlier, they might have been impressed that the razors were already waiting for them by the time they handed over the keys to the car and walked back to the room (Bones’ suggestion to give them both a chance to cool off). Bones had just barely swiped the shaving kits off the table before Jim was tugging him toward the bathroom, still grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

It hadn’t started as anything other than Bones trying to keep Jim from cutting himself in his haste to speed the process along, but somewhere between watching Jim lather his face with the shaving cream and Bones’ third swipe of the razor across Jim’s jaw, he found himself incredibly turned on. Who knew shaving could be so erotic? He took a deep breath to steady his hands before he continued, astounded by the look of complete and utter trust in Jim’s lust-darkened eyes. To Jim’s credit, he sat incredibly still, probably the stillest Bones had ever seen, and didn’t rush him.

When he had finished with Jim he lathered himself up and reached for the razor only to find Jim already holding it. Jim hopped down from the counter and indicated that Bones should sit where he had been.

“Jim, I can - ”

Jim shook his head.

“Please, Bones?”

The small smile on Jim’s face carried none of the leering from earlier, just love and the desire to do for Bones what he had done for him. Bones nodded and pushed himself up onto the counter.

If Jim finished with Bones quicker than the other man had with him, he blamed it on the quickening pulse he felt as he palmed Bones’ neck to hold him still and the way the other man couldn’t keep his eyes from fluttering shut with each stroke of the razor.

Bones knew Jim had finished when he didn’t feel the razor anymore, but he left his eyes closed, half-expecting to be accosted by Jim. He opened them after a few moments to find Jim staring at him, eyes traveling slowly up and down his frame, taking him in as if he were looking at him for the very first time.

“Jim?”

Jim finished his visual journey before he answered him.

“Do you know how long I’ve wanted to look at you like this? How long I’ve wanted to touch you like this?” Jim placed his hand on Bones’ now smooth cheek and ran his thumb across the corner of his mouth before sliding his hand to the back of Bones’ neck and gently scratched his fingers through the hair there. Bones choked back a moan that threatened to escape at the sensation. “God, do you know know how gorgeous you are?”

Bones couldn’t take it anymore and reached for Jim’s face with both hands, reveling in the smoothness he found there, not caring about the smudges of shaving cream they’d yet to wipe from their faces. He pulled Jim’s face close enough that their breaths ghosted together.

“How long, Jim?” he asked, echoing the other man’s earlier question in a ragged voice that undid Jim’s last shred of control.

“Too long.”

Jim crushed their lips together, noses bumping as each of them angled their faces to try and deepen the kiss. Bones spread his legs and Jim stepped into the space, chests pressing together as Bones slid a little closer to the edge of the counter and hooked his feet around Jim’s knees. Bones grabbed his hips and pulled him even closer before slipping his hands into Jim’s back pockets and squeezing just hard enough to elicit a moan out of the blond. He traced his tongue along the seam of Jim’s lips, seeking entrance into the wet heat he’d been dying to get at since their first kiss earlier that afternoon. Jim relented and there was a battle for dominance as each man sought to reach the furthest recesses of the other’s mouth.

Bones had lost track of where Jim’s hands were as they wouldn’t keep still for any length of time, but suddenly they were concentrated at work yanking his shirt from his jeans. Hot hands branded him as they traced up and down the skin of his sides, making him pull back from Jim’s mouth with a gasp. Jim seized the opportunity and trailed kisses across and down his jaw, much like he had imagined a few short days ago. He noted the way Bones hissed his name through clenched teeth as he reached the spot just under the other man’s ear and decided to see what other sounds he could pull from Bones. He alternated between small nips, kisses, and soft suckling in the same spot, shivering at the completely debauched sounds Bones was now making. He retaliated by pushing back slightly and yanking at Jim’s shirt until he got the message. Jim reached for the hem of his own shirt and yanked it over his head as Bones pulled his off by the neck, both shirts being haphazardly tossed to the floor.

The cool air against heated skin cut through the lust-filled haze just enough for both men to stop and catch their breath as they stared at each other. Bones was the first to break the silence.

“Jim, it’s been longer than I’d like to admit, so if we don’t slow things down this is going to be over sooner than I’m sure either of us would like.”

Jim nodded, feeling the same way, and realizing the enormity of what was happening. It wasn’t that he was afraid, because this was Bones, his best friend, the one person he trusted more than anyone or anything in the world but...

“I’ve never done this before, with a guy, I mean, I’m just not sure...” He started to gesture between them and Bones grabbed his hands, twining their fingers together.

“Me either, Jim.” He slid off the counter. “And seeing as how neither one of us was planning on this, whatever happens, happens, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Jim breathed a sigh of relief as he reached up to brush a strand of hair out of Bones’ eyes. Bones leaned into the touch as he linked his fingers into the other man’s belt loops and pulled him into a soft kiss. He backed Jim out of the bathroom toward the bedroom as he kissed his way to his ear.

“Am I going to have to argue with you about sleeping in the bed tonight?”

He nipped at Jim’s earlobe, and Jim would later deny the squeak he made. He shook his head as much as he could with Bones kissing and nipping his way to his clavicle.

“As long as I’m not alone.”

Bones smiled into Jim’s shoulder as he stopped and pressed their hips together long enough for Jim to feel the bulge in his jeans before he started toward the bedroom again.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Jim.”

###

Jim was panting as Bones crawled back up the bed and settled beside him. Before he could get comfortable Jim rolled toward him, slung an arm across his waist, and tucked his head in the spot between Bones’ neck and shoulder he had discovered a couple of orgasms ago.

“Fuck, Bones. That’s just as hot as it was the first time,” he murmured into Bones’ neck. “Did you...do I need to...?”

Bones chuckled and stroked Jim’s arm.

“I’m good. I’m still recovering. I’m surprised you aren’t asleep yet,” he teased.

“I think it’s that few hours we actually slept after the first round.”

“Speaking of sleep, shouldn’t we be thinking about it again? What time do we have to get up to make the flight in the morning?”

Jim pushed himself up onto his elbow and kissed Bones soundly, still getting used to the taste of himself in the kiss.

“About that...”

Bones raised an eyebrow and Jim chuckled.

“It’s not that bad, though I’m still determined to find your ‘sexbrow’, it’s buried in there somewhere,” he smirked as Bones rolled his eyes. “Our flight’s not till tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night? I have to be back at work the next morning!”

“No you don’t.”

“Yes I - wait. No I don’t?” Suspicion colored his expression. Jim leaned in and punctuated his next statement with random kisses.

“Nope.” Kiss. “I took the liberty,” kiss, “of adding an extra day,” kiss, “to your vacation.” Longer kiss. “You don’t have to be back until Tuesday.” Kiss. “This way you miss out on all the typical Monday crap.”

Bones initiated the kiss this time as he realized what Jim had done.

“I don’t know how you pulled that off, but I suppose a thank you is in order.”

“Mmhmm, and I can think of a couple of ways you can say thank you right now.”

“Oh really?”

Jim nodded as he kissed his way down Bones’s chest.

“I thought I was supposed to be thanking you?”

Jim looked up at Bones as he kissed and tongued at the man’s navel.

“This is.”

Bones was pretty sure this was going to top his list of favorite ways to say thank you.

###

When Bones awoke the next morning the sun was just starting to peek in through the curtains Jim had refused to close the night before. Turned out once he got comfortable, Jim was quite creative, and had tried more than once to talk Bones into a blowjob on the patio in the moonlight. Bones eventually compromised with leaving the curtains open and cracking the sliding glass door open enough to hear the sound of the ocean. He had been the one to close said door two hours later when it had actually gotten chilly in the room.

As he lay there thinking about everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, he could barely believe that this time the day before he was untangling himself from the limbs he was currently tangled in again. He yawned and snuggled closer to Jim, kissing the blond’s forehead before drifting back to sleep.

###

What woke him next were soft kisses on his face and neck that became nips and licks the further down his body they got.

“Mmm. Mornin’, Darlin’.” Bones’ voice was rough with sleep.

“Good morning indeed, Bones,” Jim purred against the man’s hip before climbing back up the bed to steal a kiss.

Bones moaned at the loss of contact so near to where he really wanted Jim, but then hissed his appreciation when Jim’s hand snaked under the sheet and continued where his mouth had left off. Bones was quickly reduced to incoherence as Jim’s tongue began fucking his mouth in counterpoint to the rhythm of his hand on Bones’ cock. The sounds coming from Bones between his cries of “Jim!” were wanton and downright wrecked the blond who was nearly ready to come despite having not even touched himself. A few lewd whispers in his ear was all it took for Bones, and Jim followed after at the sight.

After he caught his breath, Jim used the sheet to clean them up then pushed it to the floor with the towel and washcloths from the night before. 

“Remind me again why we didn’t do this sooner?” Jim asked, chuckling as he rolled onto his back beside Bones.

“Because we’re a couple of stubborn morons.”

“Right.” Jim paused for a moment, then, “Can we do that every morning?”

Bones laughed.

“Only if you’re willing to be up at the crack of dawn.”

Jim’s face twisted in contempt at the idea.

“Maybe every couple of days?”

Bones laughed as he sat up and leaned against the headboard.

“I’m sure we can find a way to compromise.” He yawned, stretched, and then looked down at Jim who was tracing random patterns on his stomach. “What time is check-out?”

“Whenever we want. I stopped by the front desk the other morning on my way to get breakfast and talked that Spock guy into a flat extra fifty bucks if we stay past checkout but are gone by 5:00, which we’d need to be anyway to make our flight.”

“You never did say what time the flight was last night.”

“Intentionally. I don’t want you to spend the day with a running countdown going in your head to make the trip worse. Besides, I have a few new...methods to try on you this time.” Jim winked and waggled his eyebrows, then went to work biting and sucking a mark into Bones’ shoulder.

“Oh? Think we need to do a - ” Bones gasped as Jim bit down a little harder. “Uh, a test run?”

Jim looked up from under his lashes at Bones, smiling wickedly as he sucked hard on Bones’ shoulder before whispering a reply.

“Great idea, Bones.”

###

With the hotel extending check-out until 11:30 because of con, the two men just barely made it on time. There had been multiple distractions, including Jim finding the bag with the two black shirts he’d seen Bones trying to hide two days before while packing. Bones had quickly pulled it out of Jim’s hands and shoved it in his carry-on with an “I’ll explain later” and a kiss to keep Jim from pouting.

There was some hesitation on their part once they actually left the hotel though - suddenly they weren’t just Jim and Bones alone with no one watching. Now they were Jim and Bones where anyone could see, and neither was quite sure what to do with that. They stood in front of the coffee house, Bones’ backpack slung over his shoulder, both wearing jackets, things really no different from the few times before they had walked through the door in front of them - except, Bones thought to himself, this time that mark on his neck says Jim’s mine. He turned toward Jim, grabbed his bicep with one hand, his hip with the other and pulled an unexpecting Jim into a kiss.

April whistled as she came out the door a few seconds later. The two men separated quickly, Jim rubbing the back of his neck as a flush crept up his cheeks and Bones grinned sheepishly.

“Don’t stop on my account!” She winked at them as she cleared one of the patio tables. “That explains how quiet you two were last night and the disappearing act you pulled before I had a chance to come out and say hi.”

Bones held the screen door open for her as she headed back inside with Jim behind her, stammering as he tried to explain. She laughed and waved him quiet as she deposited the tub of dishes behind the counter.

“I imagine congratulations are probably in order, and I bet I can say ‘it’s about time!’?”

Bones and Jim just laughed, each thinking of the different servers back home who would probably agree with her. They ordered their last coffees, which April insisted were on the house, and sat inside for a while, hands and fingers tangling and untangling as they shared stories of their trip with her between customers.

When Jim’s stomach announced it was hungry, April sent them off to “see the rest of the city” after trading hugs and phone numbers and extracting a promise from them to keep her updated - Jim promised not only that, but that they’d come back to San Diego soon and would visit.

###

Jim’s patience had run out as they sat in the terminal waiting for the boarding call. Bones was well aware of what Jim’s extra fidgeting was about and had drawn it out as long as either of them could stand.

“Alright, Jim.” He removed his arm from the back of Jim’s seat and pulled the backpack into his lap. He unzipped it just enough to slip his hand in and pull out the bag with the shirts from earlier. “Before you see them I have to explain.” Jim nodded with an eyebrow raised in curiosity. “I had pretty much decided during dinner the night before that I was eventually going to tell you how I felt about you, but not knowing how you felt in return, buying these that morning was a gamble. I figured if and when I told you that things would either go well and these would be appropriate, and if you didn’t feel the same I’d eventually be able to give you your shirt for your birthday or such and retire mine to the back of the closet never to be seen again.”

Jim couldn’t help but laugh as his curiosity got the better of him and he plucked the shirts from Bones’ grasp. Unfolding the first one, he snorted.

“Nerd, Bones, really? This one has to be mine. No way you’d wear your inner nerd heart on the outside.”

He laughed again and Bones buried his face in his hands, suddenly questioning if it was too soon for what was about to follow.

“If the other one says ‘I love -’”

Jim paused, seeing Bones’ apprehension, and realized what he was about to tease about was actually true. The look on his face changed instantly from one of laughter and teasing to shock. He slowly unfolded the second shirt and gasped softly. He looked up from the shirt to see Bones looking around the terminal at everything but Jim and the shirts in his lap. He gently grabbed Bones’ chin in one hand and forced the man to look at him as he held the shirt up with the other.

“Really?” he asked softly in disbelief at the words on the piece of fabric.

“I knew it was too soon,” he mumbled, still refusing to look Jim in the eyes.

“Bones, look at me.” Jim gripped his chin a little tighter and waited for him to make eye contact before he continued. “Am I surprised? Yes. Is it too soon? We’ll never know.” He smiled gently and blinked back tears that were threatening to spill out. “This is...I...”

At a complete loss for words, Jim did the only thing he could think of and leaned in to kiss Bones softly. He kept it chaste, not wanting to make Bones’ discomfort with the situation any worse, but he let his lips linger over the other man’s, hoping to convey everything he couldn’t put words to. Then he moved his mouth to Bones’ ear and whispered so that only Bones would be able to hear him.

“The only way I’m accepting this is if we take turns wearing them.”

He pulled back, dropping his hand, and watched as his best friend (now lover, and Jim really liked the sound of that) processed his words and a slow smile crept across his face as understanding dawned.

Jim dropped the “I (heart) my nerd” shirt in Bones lap as he shrugged off his jacket and tugged at his shirt.

“Jim, what are you doing?” Bones hissed quietly when he noticed what the blond was doing.

Jim smiled broadly and quickly removed the shirt he was wearing and replaced it with the new one. “Perfect fit.”

“Glad I bought the size up for myself then. I don’t know that we’ll be able to switch shirts, that looks like it won’t fit me.”

“You can model it for me later,” Jim winked. “Now, since I know you won’t do what I just did, go to the bathroom and put yours on. I want to see.”

“You’re kidding right?”

Jim shot Bones a look of “Do I look like I’m kidding?”

“Jim, I didn’t think we’d ever, I mean...”

Jim pushed the shirt into his hands and pulled him to his feet. “You mean to tell me you bought these and thought you’d never have to wear them in public?” Jim laughed and shook his head. “Like these,” he pointed to the marks on his neck now visible with a lower neck line, “don’t say way more than that shirt does. Now go.” He turned Bones around and gave him a gentle shove and flicked his other shirt at his ass, watching as Bones laughed all the way to the bathroom. 

He tucked his shirt into his own backpack as he thought back over the trip. He hadn’t even dared to hope that it would turn out like this, but he was insanely happy that it had. Jim snickered at the anticipation of how he was going to keep Bones calm on the flight this time and generally reveled in his happiness until Bones returned.

And if they drew stares, a few whistles and some clapping when Bones kissed the daylights out of Jim, neither of them minded a whole lot.

  


Epilogue

“Jim, I told you to be careful!”

“I thought I was. Jeez, did you bring back a bag of sand in your bag or what?”

“No, Jim, I think you forgot about all the free comic books we brought back.”

“Oh right. Still. Oww!”

“I told you I’d help you with the bags. Now come on, I’ll drive you to the hospital.”

“Aww, do we have to? I was really, ow, looking forward to, oww, having my way with you tonight.”

Bones shook his head, half in laughter, half in dejection. “Yeah Jim, me too. But then _someone_ had to be a macho man even after I said the driveway is slick when it rains. Stay put while I take the bags inside.” He zipped his jacket all the way up, consciously to keep him dry, subconsciously to hide the shirt since he didn’t have time to change before he took Jim to the ER.

“Come on, Bones, we’ll just be really careful.” Jim waggled his eyebrows at Bones and gave him the sexiest grin he could muster until it was interrupted with a grimace of pain.

“Absolutely not. If it hurts that bad it’s probably fractured at the very least, and forgive me if the idea of you completely breaking a bone during sex is a turn _off_ rather than a turn _on_.”

Jim whined and continued to pout as Bones took their bags inside, in two trips, and then came back out to help Jim into his car.

His head nurse Christine was running the front desk when they limped into the hospital. Jim was in quite a bit of pain by this time, but Bones refused “to carry you into my own hospital” and offered him a wheelchair, but Jim’s pride just barely won out over the pain.

He got Jim, now almost constantly grimacing, settled into one of the chairs in the waiting room and then crossed the room to the desk where Christine was trying to stifle her laughter.

“Christine, can you page whoever’s not busy to take care of Jim?”

“Do I dare ask what he did this time?” She reached for a clipboard, but Bones waved her off.

“Slipped in the rain. I’ll do his paperwork while I’m waiting for him.”

“Wait, you’re not going to take him back and take care of him?”

“No, I’m pretty sure I already asked you to page someone else.” Bones turned away from the counter and headed back toward Jim.

Christine couldn’t contain her laughter at this point and beamed from ear to ear. “I’m drinking the good stuff when the nurses go out after shift tonight.”

Bones stopped, turned slowly, eyebrow raised, and glared at Christine. “What?”

“There may or may not have been a pool amongst the nurses that I may or may not have won.”

Bones stalked back toward the counter and leaned in close to Christine.

“What pool, Christine?” Bones voice wasn’t so much of a whisper as it was a growl.

“Why won’t you treat Golden Boy?” She threw her gaze to Jim and then back to Bones, who was still looking at Jim with a slight look of disappointment in his eyes. “Did you two get into a fight on-”

“No,” Bones snapped before she could finish the question. “Everything’s fine, we’re fine. Friends like always.”

Christine snorted in derision. “Come on, Len. If I guessed the day right I get an extra hundred from the nurses in pediatrics and fifty from the orderlies. Friday or Saturday?”

Bones’ jaw fell open as he shifted his gaze from Jim back to Christine. “You’re fucking kidding me, right?”

“If you don’t fess up, I’m sure Golden Boy over there will. Especially if I offer to play look out so you two can fu-”

“Try it,” Bones hissed through grit teeth, jaw clenched, eyes narrowed, just barely loud enough for Christine to hear.

She quickly smothered her smug grin from before and replaced it with her standard “Yes Doctor, whatever you need Doctor” smile. Bones held her gaze, practically daring her to say anything else, as she picked up the phone to page one of the attendings. As she set the receiver down in the cradle Bones reached over the counter and swiped the clipboard with practiced ease and gave Christine one last glare before going to sit with Jim while they waited.

Ten minutes later Geoffrey pushed open the double doors that led to the treatment rooms and shook his head, chuckling when he saw Jim. He didn’t see Bones at first who was sitting on the other side of Jim, hunched over the clipboard, muttering admonitions to Jim.

“What’d you do this time, Jim?”

Bones sat up and rattled off his crack at the diagnosis before Jim could even open his mouth.

“Dr. McCoy! Back from vacation I see. I know you’re not officially back on duty until late tomorrow, but don’t you usually treat this klutz?” Geoffrey smiled at them both, Jim doing his best to grin back through the pain at Geoffrey’s standard description of him.

Geoffrey was one of the very few doctors in the place who wasn’t involved in hospital gossip and who kept his own observations completely to himself when he did make them. Bones had never appreciated that fact more than right now, and figured he owed it to the man to give him the “first statement” as the nurses usually put it.

“You’re right, Geoff, I’m _not_ on duty and I’d like to actually enjoy the last few hours of it,” Bones said loudly enough to be heard by Christine. He stood then, handed Geoffrey Jim’s chart, and pointed at the emergency contact section as he continued in the same volume as before. “However, our resident klutz here managed to discover some new allergies last week so make sure they make it into his file would you?”

Geoffrey scanned the section Bones pointed to and nodded, winking after he turned so that Christine couldn’t see him. He knew the repartee that went on between the two and assumed she hadn’t been let in on this information yet.

“Sure thing, Doc.” He paused for a moment and then grinned. “Do you mind if I have one of my first years take care of it for me while I’m checking Jim out?” Bones could see Christine over Geoff’s shoulders and snickered as he watched her bristle at the fact that she wouldn’t be the one digging through the chart to figure out if she was right about her theory or not. Geoff gave Bones a questioning look that clearly indicated he was wondering about her reaction and Bones just smiled and nodded.

“That’s fine. Give it to whoever’s managed to misdiagnose themselves into chart duty.” The two chuckled at the image of whichever unfortunate intern ended up with Jim’s chart.

Geoff called for a wheelchair, much to Jim’s protests, and Bones very smugly reminded him about hospital rules. Then he leaned down so that only Jim could hear him.

“And no, blowing the head of surgery does not make you exempt.”

Jim flushed slightly but smiled. “We’ll see about that.” He threw a wink at Bones as one of Geoffrey’s interns showed up with the wheelchair.

Bones chuckled inside and decided that since Christine had been, mostly, cooperative, and to yank Jim’s chain just a bit, he’d throw his head nurse a bone.

“Oh, and, Geoff? I’m pretty sure Jim said those new allergies showed up yesterday, so you might want to run a basic blood work panel on him before you turn him loose.”

Geoffrey just smiled. “Yesterday?” he repeated as he walked past the front desk.

“Yeah, Jim, wasn’t it yesterday?” he emphasized the last word and leered at Jim then threw a quick glance at Christine. Jim’s eyes lit up as he finally understood what Bones was referring to, then laughed, inferring the gist of the hushed conversation between he and Christine at the desk earlier.

“Yeah, yesterday. And I think I had a brief flare-up this morning too, come to think of it.”

Another stab of pain was the only thing that kept Jim from laughing as they wheeled him through the doors. Bones ambled slowly behind and stood at the doors, turned toward the desk.

“Twice this morning,” he said nearly under his breath and then laughed as Christine’s eyes widened in realization.

She turned, threw a look of daggers at him and then reached for the phone as Bones hurried to catch up with Geoffrey and Jim. He knew the news would be hospital-wide in less than five minutes, but he really didn’t care as he reached for Jim’s hand and unzipped his jacket with the other. He had Jim, and that was all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> This would not even exist if it weren't for witblogi! I don't even know where to begin to thank her for everything that she's done for me! She made the awesome banner you see at the top of this post, she let me post originally in her fic comm because my journal is in desperate need of a visual overhaul, and she has been with me every single step of the way. We twisted each other's arms to sign up (ok so maybe I had to twist hers more than she did mine), we plotted, we wrote, and then when RL got in my way and I didn't write for nearly two months and came back to my story and knew it wasn't going to happen, she helped me pick a new idea (I think we actually went through two different versions of it before this one grabbed me and truly wouldn't let go), and then she KICKED MY ASS to get this sucker written. She listened to me whine and ramble and pout, she put up with me yelling at the boys to quit being stubborn and tell me the story dammit!, and then she put mercifully kept me from getting anywhere near the purple font color (more like she deleted anything purple, reset my font color to black and talked me through the changes). And motivation? SHE MADE ME ZACHARY QUINTO MOTIVATIONAL MACROS :)
> 
> Then extra thanks to Sesh for last minute looks at SPAG and plot when Wit was buried under uni work as we got down to the end, and thanks to SQ for her honest thoughts - I trust Sesh and Wit, but SQ has hardcore opinions when it comes to long!fic so I knew if she liked it I was doing okay.


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